According to the Doomsday Clock, the world is closer to catastrophe than ever.

The metaphorical measure of humanity’s challenges was set to 90 seconds before midnight this week by the science and security board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. They say it was “largely, though not exclusively” due to the war in Ukraine.

Every January, the scientific body evaluates and updates the Doomsday Clock which was designed to alert humanity of threats from within, from perils we face from our own technologies like nuclear weapons, war, and global climate change. This is the first update since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February.

The clock was set to the prior low of 100 seconds in January of 2020, when the Bulletin’s scientist said we were “at doom’s doorstep.”

Former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson said:

“The Doomsday Clock is sounding an alarm for the whole of humanity. We are on the brink of a precipice. But our leaders are not acting at sufficient speed or scale to secure a peaceful and livable planet.”

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