Symbolic 'Doomsday Clock' in the US moved to 89 seconds to midnight

The Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in the US set the Doomsday Clock to 89 seconds to midnight during a press conference at the United States Institute of Peace in the capital, marking the closest it has ever been to midnight in its history.

Board chair Daniel Holz, while adjusting the Doomsday Clock, listed threats influencing the decision, such as climate change, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, instability in the Middle East, the threat of pandemics, and the use of artificial intelligence in military operations.

Regarding the Doomsday Clock, which had stood at 90 seconds to midnight for the past two years, Holz said, "The one thing you do not want to do when you are on the brink of catastrophe is to take a step forward."

Expressing concerns over countries like North Korea, Russia, and China collaborating to develop nuclear programs, Holz also described Russia's rhetoric regarding the use of nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine as "frightening."

The Doomsday Clock, which was symbolically created in 1947 under the leadership of atomic scientists at the University of Chicago, two years after the US used the atomic bomb against Japan for the first time in history, aims to draw attention to the danger of humanity facing an extinction catastrophe, particularly through its own self-produced nuclear technology.