Doomsday ClockA symbolic tool created by scientists to visualize the likelihood of human extinction is at the peak of popularity for the second year in a row. 90 seconds to midnightvery close to its final hour due to the war in Ukraine and the climate crisis.

The clock hands were installed last Tuesday, January 23, in Washington by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, the organization that is responsible for managing the instrument. Since its inception in 1947.

In 2023, scientists We decided to reduce the seconds from 100 to 90. Staying for the apocalypse is the closest the clock has ever been to its final hour, and this year it decided to keep the same time.

This harrowing countdown comes as “ominous trends continue to point the world toward global catastrophe,” the Bulletin said in a statement.

The main problem for scientists is threat of using nuclear weapons in the Ukrainian warand efforts by China, Russia and the United States to modernize their nuclear arsenals.

The bulletin warned that these trends are “increasing risk of nuclear war due to a calculation error.”

In addition, the Earth experienced in 2023 “hottest year ever recordedAnd as a result of the climate crisis, huge floods, forest fires and other disasters have occurred.

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Since 2007, the Doomsday Clock has included in its ratings deterioration of the planet due to global warming.

The newsletter also focused on expansion that occurred in the last year of artificial intelligence developmenta tool that scientists have warned has great military and disinformation potential.

“Fortunately, many countries are recognizing the importance of regulating artificial intelligence and are beginning to take steps to reduce potential harm,” they said.

The current situation is worse than in 1953.as the clock struck two minutes to midnight during one of the most intense phases of the Cold War, when both the Soviets and Americans conducted their first thermonuclear weapons tests.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 to warn the world about the danger of a nuclear disaster and counts among its members Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer, as well as several dozen famous scientists.

(EFE)