(RNN) - Doomsday Clock is now set to two minutes to midnight, 30 seconds closer than last year.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved it forward because of nuclear affairs among various countries.
The Doomsday Clock represents the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe. A hypothetical global apocalypse as is labeled as "midnight" and The Bulletin's opinion on how close the world is to a global catastrophe as a number of "minutes" to midnight.
.@SquassoniSharon "This decision was not easy." #rewindthedoomsdayclock https://t.co/E8vk3p2tOC It is now two minutes to midnight.
— BulletinOfTheAtomic (@BulletinAtomic) January 25, 2018
According to the Washington Post, in moving the clock 30 seconds closer to the hour of the apocalypse, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists cited “the failure of President Trump and other world leaders to deal with looming threats of nuclear war and climate change.”
The U.S. and Russia are discussing expanding their nuclear arsenal.
Officials blamed the media saying it plays a role in distracting discussion away from threats of nuclear warfare and climate change.
Officials urged citizens of the world to take-action.
The Bulletin's Science and Security Board sets the Doomsday Clock at 2 minutes to midnight. #rewindthedoomsdayclock
— BulletinOfTheAtomic (@BulletinAtomic) January 25, 2018
“It is not yet midnight and we have moved back from the brink in the past,” one official said.
The danger of nuclear conflagration is not the only reason the clock has been moved forward."
In an op-ed, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists also mentioned climate change, which will affect low-lying countries, which will produce a flood of immigrants to other countries that will “dwarf” the current levels.
Theoretical Physicist, Lawrence M. Krauss states, “The danger of nuclear conflagration is not the only reason the clock has been moved forward."
The closest the minute hand came to midnight was in 1953. The clock read 2 minutes to midnight when the U.S. and Soviet Union began testing the hydrogen bomb.
The farthest the hand was from midnight was at 17 minutes in 1991, with the Cold War ending and the two superpowers reducing their nuclear weapon arsenals following the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
The clock was established in 1947 by a group of experts who were working on the Manhattan Project to design and build the first atomic bomb.
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