90 seconds before the apocalypse: researchers set "doomsday clock" for 2024!

Washington - Researchers have set the symbolic doomsday clock for the year 2024 at 90 seconds to midnight in view of global conflicts and crises.

The US researchers are concerned about the nuclear powers USA, Russia and China, which are currently looking to modernize their nuclear arsenal. (symbolic image)
The US researchers are concerned about the nuclear powers USA, Russia and China, which are currently looking to modernize their nuclear arsenal. (symbolic image)  © dpa - Bildfunk

Last year, the so-called"Doomsday Clock" was set by the US institute "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" at 90 seconds, closer to a global catastrophe than ever before.

On Tuesday, the scientists announced that they are sticking to their gloomy forecast for the new year.

"Today we have once again turned the Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds to midnight as humanity continues to face an unprecedented level of danger," they said in a statement.

Among the greatest dangers, the association founded by Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer in 1945 cites the use of nuclear weapons in the course of an escalating war in Ukraine, climate change and the uncontrollable development of artificial intelligence.

The "Doomsday Clock" assesses the current dangers to humanity using a symbolic time. (symbolic image)
ContentImage.Description   © Ralf Hirschberger/dpa

At the same time, it emphasizes that the clock can be turned back at any time: "Leaders and citizens around the world should take this statement as a clear warning and respond urgently, as if today were the most dangerous moment in modern history."