WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Scientists in the United States have moved the hands on their symbolic "Doomsday Clock" two minutes closer to midnight, citing global warming and nuclear terrorism.
The change, the first since February 2002, leaves the clock at five minutes to midnight, the latest it has been since 1988, when it was moved back to six minutes to midnight. The later the time, the more imminent the danger of destruction.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, which has maintained the clock since 1947 in an effort to focus public attention on the possibility of a nuclear Armageddon, said in a statement that global warming now posed a threat of human extinction almost as great as that from hydrogen bombs.
"We have concluded that the dangers posed by climate change are nearly as dire as those posed by nuclear weapons," the statement says. Its "effects may be less dramatic in the short term than the destruction (from) nuclear explosions," but "over the next three to four decades" it could cause "drastic harm to the habitats upon which human societies depend for survival."
The statement also warned of a "Second Nuclear Age." During the first such age -- the decades-long Cold War, the clock was set as late as two minutes to midnight.
Throughout the 1990's, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the time on the clock was set as far back as 17 minutes to midnight. But through the decade, as fears of nuclear terrorism mounted, the time was moved up to nine minutes to midnight. In 2002, following the Sept. 11 terror attacks, it was moved again, to seven minutes to 12.
Second-age threats include the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea; unsecured nuclear materials in Russia and elsewhere; the continuing "launch-ready" status of 2,000 of the 25,000 nuclear weapons held by the U.S. and Russia; escalating terrorism; and "new pressure from climate change for expanded civilian nuclear power that could increase proliferation risks."
The group said the decision to move the minute hand is made by its Board of Directors in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes 18 Nobel Laureates.
