LONDON: Is Doomsday coming closer? Scientists will let us know Thursday whether or not the minute hand of the historic “Doomsday Clock” will be adjusted.
The clock is symbolic and has been maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1947. The closer to a setting of midnight it gets, the closer it’s estimated that a global disaster will occur.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by University of Chicago scientists who had helped develop the first nuclear weapons in the Manhattan Project.
The scientists created the clock in 1947 using the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero), to convey threats to humanity and the Earth.
The Doomsday Clock was most recently moved ahead from six to five minutes to midnight in 2012, in a response to nuclear proliferation and climate change.
The announcement will be made Thursday morning at a press conference in Washington, D.C
