The symbolic hands of the so-called Doomsday Clock in 2020 have moved forward 20 seconds, now they show 100 seconds to "nuclear midnight," the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists organization said in a statement.
According to RIA Novosti, the Doomsday clock first appeared on the cover of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1947. The time remaining until midnight symbolizes the tension in the international situation, midnight means the moment of a nuclear cataclysm. In recent years, the arrows are only moving forward.
“It's 100 seconds to midnight now. We express how close the world is to disaster in seconds - not hours or even minutes. This is the closest time to the Doomsday in the history of the Doomsday Clock, - the words of the head of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Rachel Bronson, are quoted in the document.
In addition to the growth of the nuclear threat, experts of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists named the US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran, climate change and disinformation in the virtual space as the reasons for the transfer of arrows.
Moving the hands of the Doomsday clock forward 20 seconds means a worsening of the situation in the international arena due to a combination of factors. Dmitry Zhuravlev, Director General of the Institute of Regional Problems, told RT about this.
Zhuravlev declined to comment on the climate change thesis, saying that experts "have not yet agreed on this dark issue." “As for Iran, this is very serious. The fact that the escalation has been stopped so far is a great success and success,”he said.
However, the expert called the termination of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles between the United States and Russia as the biggest step towards "nuclear midnight". In his opinion, it is necessary to create a new system of contracts before the critical line is crossed.
On January 23, the hands of the Doomsday clock stopped at 100 seconds before midnight. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists President Rachel Bronson stressed that humanity is in such a state that any mistake or delay is like death.
The symbolic Doomsday clock was created in 1947. The movement of the hands of the clock symbolizes the time that separates humanity before nuclear war or climatic catastrophe.
