‘Leaders and citizens of the world. This is your COVID wake-up call: it’s 100 seconds to midnight. ‘
That’s the warning scientists issued Wednesday morning, when they announced that the 2021 Doomsday clock – a visual representation of perceived threats facing the planet – is at a record high of 100 seconds to midnight.
In 2020, the hands of the clock went from two minutes to midnight to 100 seconds – the closest to symbolic doom. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced on Wednesday that it remains in the same spot in the annual update, calling the COVID-19 pandemic a “wake-up call.”
“The pandemic revealed how unprepared and reluctant countries and the international system are to properly address global emergencies,” the organization said. “In this time of real crisis, governments all too often relinquished responsibility, ignored scientific advice, did not cooperate effectively or communicate, and consequently failed to protect the health and well-being of their citizens. to protect.”
The organization said disdain for science and the spread of conspiracy theories, often by political figures and partisan leaders, will only continue to undermine the ability to protect people from future threats.
Although deadly, the coronavirus pandemic does not actually pose an existential threat to humanity. Rather, the group is concerned about accelerating nuclear weapons programs, worsening climate change and possible future, even more devastating pandemics.
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists / Thomas Gaulkin
“We continue to believe that people can control the dangers of modern technology, even in times of crisis,” the organization said. “But if humanity is to avoid an existential catastrophe – one that would overshadow everything it has seen so far – national leaders need to do much better at fighting disinformation, paying attention to science and working together to reduce global risks.”
The non-profit Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in the 1940s by scientists at Albert Einstein and the University of Chicago after the development of nuclear weapons. Over the past decade, the Doomsday Clock has slowly moved closer to midnight, symbolizing the growing risk of an apocalypse ending civilization.
The group says it sees some reasons for optimism in the coming year, including President Joe Biden’s plans aggressively combating climate change. But it urged world leaders to do more to cut carbon emissions and eradicate the threat of nuclear weapons forever.