Earth is still on the verge of apocalypse in 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the potential for nuclear war, climate change and rampant hoaxes, warn the scientists behind the Doomsday Clock.
The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clock that represents the possible risk of global man-made disasters. This symbol has been maintained since 1947 by members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) at the University of Chicago, United States.
BAS itself is an organization that assesses scientific progress and the risks to humans. They created the Apocalypse Clock as a reminder to humanity not to do Earth-shattering damage.
Researchers who are members of the BAS have determined that the hands of the Doomsday Clock this year are still the same as in 2020, which is 100 seconds to midnight.
That means, the symbolic clock shows humanity's closest point to the apocalypse. In 2019, the position of the doomsday clock is 2 minutes to midnight. Midnight or 00.00 is a symbol of the end of time.
"The hands of the Doomsday Clock are still 100 seconds into midnight, the closest point to midnight," said BAS President Rachel Bronson, as quoted by AFP.
"The frightening and deadly COVID-19 pandemic is a historic reminder, a vivid illustration of how countries and international organizations are overwhelmed with managing real threats that could end civilization such as nuclear weapons and climate change," Bronson said.
The last time the Doomsday Clock was so close to midnight was during the hydrogen bomb tests by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1953, which began the era of the nuclear arms race. While the furthest point to the apocalypse occurred in 1991, when the Cold War ended.
The hands of the Doomsday Clock are reset every year and this decision is made by the members of the BAS board, which includes 13 Nobel laureates.
