Scientists keep ‘Doomsday Clock’ at 100 seconds to midnight – By Daniel Uria (UPI) / January 27 2021
Jan. 27 (UPI) — The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists on Wednesday chose to keep its “Doomsday Clock” at 100 seconds before midnight, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, the threat of nuclear war and climate change.
The Chicago-based group chose to keep the clock — which symbolically reflects how close the world is to destruction — at 11:58 p.m., and 20 seconds, saying the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic indicates a lack of the structures necessary to combat other grave threats.
“The hands of the Doomsday Clock remain at 100 seconds to midnight, as close to midnight as ever,” said Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, in a statement. “The lethal and fear-inspiring COVID-19 pandemic serves as a historic ‘wake-up call,’ a vivid illustration that national governments and international organizations are unprepared to manage the truly civilization-ending threats of nuclear weapons and climate change.”
Since the start of the pandemic, 100.7 million people have been infected and 2.17 million have died worldwide, including 25.57 million cases and 428,015 deaths in the United States, according to data gathered by Johns Hopkins University.
