Scientists have set the dread Doomsday Clock 20 seconds closer to midnight, setting it the closest to what The Hill calls “a metaphorical point of Earth’s destruction” than ever before. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists created the clock in 1947 to represent how close our planet was from nuclear annihilation. The scientists decided to move the clock closer this year due to the nuclear fallout with Iran and North Korea, plus the breakdown of the Nuclear Forces Treaty between the U.S. and Russia. The clock was also moved as scientists accounted for climate change, citing devastating hurricanes and wildfires. The clock now sits at 100 seconds to midnight.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved its symbolic Doomsday Clock closer to midnight, an increase from last year. It's the first time the clock has been set within the two minute mark. https://t.co/7SCysehD2B
— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) January 23, 2020