The Doomsday Clock A Pendulum on the Edge

Sometimes, danger doesn't come in the form of an explosion, but rather approaches slowly, like a hand moving silently toward its end. There are moments in human history when silence is more dangerous than noise, and a warning more potent than a shock... Perhaps the "Doomsday Clock" is the most vivid embodiment of this idea.

It's not a clock on a wall, nor a hand turning on your phone, but an idea born from the heart of human fear, and it bears a chilling name: "Doomsday Clock."

It was invented by scientists who once participated in the creation of the most dangerous weapon known to humanity—the atomic bomb—and then their consciences awakened. They felt that, by opening the doors of power, they had also opened the doors of annihilation. So, they created a symbol not to tell us time, but to measure the distance between us and catastrophe.

At this hour, midnight is not a time for sleep but rather the moment of the end—a nuclear war, a climate catastrophe, a global pandemic, or an uncontrolled technological collapse. The closer the minute hand gets to that moment, the more it signals that the world is approaching the brink of the abyss. If it recedes, it is a temporary breath of relief.

Today, its hands are set by a select group of scientists and experts, who meet annually to examine maps of danger: the nuclear threat, climate change, the race for artificial intelligence, and the fragility of diplomacy between nations. They study the news, wars, torn agreements, and the melting of the ice, then decide: Are we heading toward the abyss or taking a step back?

Its history is replete with contradictory moments:

• 1947: It began at seven minutes to midnight.

• 1953: It moved closer to just two minutes, at the height of the Cold War.

• 1963: It moved away to 12 minutes after the Nuclear Test Limits Treaty.

• 1991: It was at its furthest point, 17 minutes, with the end of the Cold War.

• Today... we are only 90 seconds away, the closest distance in history, driven by the war in Ukraine, the faltering response to the climate crisis, and an alarming technological race.

This clock is not a prophecy or a promise of a specific date. Rather, it is a silent alarm bell, but its echo is resounding in the minds of those who understand it. It reminds us that our fate is not written but depends on the decisions we make today.

Either we turn back its hands or let it run until midnight... and then, there will be no time to look back.