The doomsday clock - which shows how close the world has moved to catastrophic destruction - has inched a minute closer to midnight.

It puts the measure of how capable mankind is of imploding on itself at five minutes to 12.

The clock, in reality an indicator, is set by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (BAS). It shows how capable mankind is of destroying itself. It started in 1947, at the beginning of the cold war, just two years after America dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In recent years, the minute hand has been moving away from midnight. It's moved closer this time because of fears of nuclear weapons, the BAS says: "Two years ago, it appeared that world leaders might address the truly global threats that we face. In many cases, that trend has not continued or been reversed."

The factors that set the clock now include other developments in science that could inflict devastating harm, and climate changing technologies.

Lawrence Krauss, co-chair, BAS Board of Sponsors, says:



Unfortunately, Einstein's statement in 1946 that 'everything has changed, save the way we think,' remains true. The provisional developments of 2 years ago have not been sustained, and it makes sense to move the clock closer to midnight, back to the value it had in 2007. Faced with clear and present dangers of nuclear proliferation and climate change, and the need to find sustainable and safe sources of energy, world leads are failing to change business as usual. Inaction on key issues including climate change, and rising international tensions motivate the movement of the clock

The closest the clock, published in the BAS magazine, has come to midnight was back in 1953. The United States decided to develop the hydrogen bomb - far more powerful than any atomic bomb. It tested the device in 1952, and the next year, the clock was put a minute further forward. "The hands of the Clock of Doom have moved again" was announced by the bulletin. "Only a few more swings of the pendulum, and, from Moscow to Chicago, atomic explosions will strike midnight for Western civilization."

Allison Macfarlane, chair, BAS Science and Security Board, says:

The global community may be near a point of no return in efforts to prevent catastrophe from changes in Earth's atmosphere. The International Energy Agency projects that, unless societies begin building alternatives to carbon-emitting energy technologies over the next five years, the world is doomed to a warmer climate, harsher weather, droughts, famine, water scarcity, rising sea levels, loss of island nations, and increasing ocean acidification

The furthest the clock has been from midnight was in 1991, when the cold war was declared officially over. It swung back from 10 minutes to 17, after the strategic arms reduction treaty reduced the number of strategic nuclear weapons from the United States and Russia.

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Data summary

Doomsday clock over time Click heading to sort Year Minutes to midnight Reason given by Bulletin of Atomic Scientists 1947 7 As the Bulletin evolves from a newsletter into a magazine, the Clock appears on the cover for the first time. It symbolizes the urgency of the nuclear dangers 1949 3 The Soviet Union denies it, but in the fall, President Harry Truman tells the American public that the Soviets tested their first nuclear device, officially starting the arms race. 1953 2 After much debate, the United States decides to pursue the hydrogen bomb, a weapon far more powerful than any atomic bomb. 1960 7 Political actions belie the tough talk of "massive retaliation." For the first time, the United States and Soviet Union appear eager to avoid direct confrontation 1963 12 After a decade of almost non-stop nuclear tests, the United States and Soviet Union sign the Partial Test Ban Treaty, which ends all atmospheric nuclear testing. 1968 7 Regional wars rage. U.S. involvement in Vietnam intensifies, India and Pakistan battle in 1965, and Israel and its Arab neighbors renew hostilities in 1967. Worse yet, France and China develop nuclear weapons to assert themselves as global players. 1969 10 Nearly all of the world's nations come together to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The deal is simple--the nuclear weapon states vow to help the treaty's non-nuclear weapon signatories develop nuclear power if they promise to forego producing nuclear weapons. 1972 12 The United States and Soviet Union attempt to curb the race for nuclear superiority by signing the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) and the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. 1974 9 South Asia gets the Bomb, as India tests its first nuclear device. And any gains in previous arms control agreements seem like a mirage. 1980 7 Thirty-five years after the start of the nuclear age and after some promising disarmament gains, the United States and the Soviet Union still view nuclear weapons as an integral component of their national security. 1981 4 The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan hardens the U.S. nuclear posture. Before he leaves office, President Jimmy Carter pulls the United States from the Olympics Games in Moscow and considers ways in which the United States could win a nuclear war. 1984 3 U.S.-Soviet relations reach their iciest point in decades. "Every channel of communications has been constricted or shut down; every form of contact has been attenuated or cut off. 1988 6 The United States and Soviet Union sign the historic Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the first agreement to actually ban a whole category of nuclear weapons. 1990 10 In late 1989, the Berlin Wall falls, symbolically ending the Cold War. "Forty-four years after Winston Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech, the myth of monolithic communism has been shattered for all to see." 1991 17 With the Cold War officially over, the United States and Russia begin making deep cuts to their nuclear arsenals. 1995 14 Hopes for a large post-Cold War peace dividend and a renouncing of nuclear weapons fade. 1998 9 India and Pakistan stage nuclear weapons tests only three weeks apart. "The tests are a symptom of the failure of the international community to fully commit itself to control the spread of nuclear weapons – and to work toward substantial reductions in the numbers of these weapons." 2002 7 Concerns regarding a nuclear terrorist attack underscore the enormous amount of unsecured–and sometimes unaccounted for–weapon-grade nuclear materials located throughout the world. 2007 5 The world stands at the brink of a second nuclear age. The United States and Russia remain ready to stage a nuclear attack within minutes, North Korea conducts a nuclear test, and many in the international community worry that Iran plans to acquire the Bomb. 2010 6 Talks between Washington and Moscow for a follow-on agreement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty are nearly complete, and more negotiations for further reductions in the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenal are already planned. 2012 5 "The challenges to rid the world of nuclear weapons, harness nuclear power, and meet the nearly inexorable climate disruptions from global warming are complex and interconnected. In the face of such complex problems, it is difficult to see where the capacity lies to address these challenges.”

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