The Doomsday 2021 clock stops 100 seconds until midnight, a “historic wake-up call”

“World leaders and citizens. This is your COVID wake-up call: 100 seconds to midnight.”

That’s the warning scientists gave Wednesday morning as they announced that the 2021 Doomsday clock, a visual representation of perceived threats facing the planet, is holding a record close of 100 seconds at midnight.

In 2020, the hands of the clock moved from two minutes to midnight at 100 seconds, the closest it has ever been to symbolic fatality. The Atomic Scientists Bulletin announced Wednesday that it would remain in the same place as the annual update, calling the COVID-19 pandemic a “wake-up call.”

“The pandemic revealed the extent to which countries and the international system are unprepared and unwilling to deal with global emergencies properly,” the organization said. “In this time of genuine crisis, governments have too often abdicated responsibility, ignored scientific advice, failed to cooperate or communicate effectively, and consequently failed to protect the health and well-being of their citizens.”

The organization said disrespect for science and the spread of conspiracy theories, often by political figures and partisan leaders, will only further undermine the ability to protect people from future threats.

Although lethal, the coronavirus pandemic is not really an existential threat to humanity. Rather, the group is more concerned about the acceleration of nuclear weapons programs, worsening climate change and the possible future, even more devastating pandemics.

“We continue to believe that human beings can manage the dangers posed by modern technology, even in times of crisis,” the organization said. “But if humanity is to avert an existential catastrophe — one that dwarfs anything it has yet seen — national leaders must do a much better job of combating misinformation, addressing science, and cooperating to reduce global risks.” .

The non-profit newsletter of atomic scientists was founded in the 1940s by Albert Einstein and scientists at the University of Chicago after the development of atomic weapons. Over the past decade, his Doomsday Clock has been slowly approaching midnight, symbolizing the growing risk of an apocalypse ending civilization.

The group says it sees some reasons for optimism next year, including President Joe Biden’s plans aggressively combat climate change. But he urged world leaders to do more to reduce carbon emissions and eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons once and for all.