The 'Doomsday Clock' hasn't been this close to midnight since 1953

Nathan Giannini
Donald Trump
The group behind the Doomsday Clock moved the clock 30 seconds closer to midnight, in large part because of Donald Trump. (Photo by REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

Humanity has edged closer to global annihilation, according to a group of scientists tasked with measuring the level of danger to the continued existence of the human race.

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, the group behind the Doomsday Clock, announced on Thursday it will move the clock forward 30 seconds to just two-and-a-half minutes to midnight — with midnight representing the end of humanity.

Lawrence M. Krauss and David Titley, two scientists who work on the project, wrote in The New York Times the international community has failed to deal with climate change and nuclear weapons, which they consider to be “humanity’s most pressing threats.” Furthermore, they argue, US President Donald Trump “has promised to impede progress on both of those fronts.”

“Never before has the Bulletin decided to advance the clock largely because of the statements of a single person,” the scientists wrote. “But when that person is the new president of the United States, his words matter.”

The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947 to warn the public “about how close we are to destroying our world with dangerous technologies of our own making.”

The current time is the closest the clock has come to midnight since 1953, when the group moved the clock to two minutes to midnight after both the United States and Soviet Union tested thermonuclear devices within six months of each other.

The closest the clock has ever come to midnight was in 1953, when it was just two minutes away.
The closest the clock has ever come to midnight was in 1953, when it was just two minutes away. (Courtesy of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)

The decision to change the time lies with Bulletin’s Science and Security Board. The board, which is made up of experts in nuclear technology and climate science, meets twice a year to “discuss world events and reset the clock as necessary.” It also consults with the group’s Board of Sponsors, which includes 15 Nobel Laureates.

The group pointed to several other issues leading to the change: North Korea’s continued development of nuclear weapons; the increasingly strained relationship between the U.S. and Russia; and the uncertain future of the Iran nuclear deal.

“These are all matters in which President Trump has signaled that he would make matters worse either because of a mistaken belief that the threats posed by nuclear weapons and climate can be ignored or that the words of a president of the United States do not matter to the rest of the world,” the authors wrote.

Members of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists unveil the 2017 time for the 'Doomsday Clock' January 26, 2017 in Washington, DC. From left to right are theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Thomas Pickering and retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral David Titley. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Members of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists unveil the 2017 time for the ‘Doomsday Clock’ January 26, 2017 in Washington, DC. From left to right are theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Thomas Pickering and retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral David Titley. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

One of the key charges Hillary Clinton made during the campaign was that the outspoken businessman could not be trusted with nuclear weapons. Trump has done little to alleviate those fears since his victory in November, tweeting that the U.S. should “greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability.”

The furthest the clock has ever swung in the other direction in its 70-year history is 17 minutes to midnight. That came in 1991 when the U.S. and U.S.S.R. signed the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and the Soviet Union dissolved.

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