Putin, North Korea, Covid and the Doomsday Clock – is Armageddon upon us?

Armageddon – The Doomsday Clock is at 100 seconds to midnight amid tensions between Putin and Ukraine, weapons testing in North Korea, the Covid pandemic and dire climate warnings.

Armageddon may be upon us with tensions between Putin and Ukraine, weapons testing in North Korea, the Covid pandemic, dire climate warnings escalating and the movement of the Doomsday Clock.
This is the first time in two years that scientists have met to assess the state of the world due to the Covid pandemic.
When the panel met in 2020, the hand of the Doomsday Clock was moved forward from two minutes to midnight to 100 seconds to midnight – making it the closest it has ever been to Armageddon.
The announcement comes amid a major escalation in weapons testing in North Korea, with Kim Jong-un overseeing four major launches since the beginning of 2022 in response to the US imposing sanctions on key figures linked to its authoritarian regime.
Tensions are also climbing between Russia and Ukraine, with a build-up of troops on the border. The Western government fear this may be the sign of a future invasion.
The British government has warned that tens of thousands of people could die should Putin order an invasion in Ukraine and has provided military support.
If the situation worsens, tensions between east and west nuclear powers will inevitably increase.
The current climate crisis is another major issue, with world leaders at the Cop26 summit last year failing to reach a deal on how to guarantee a climate catastrophe.
There was slight movement, which Greenpeace called “meek” and “weak” following a last-minute hijack by India and China on the phasing out of coal – which saw conference chair Alok Sharma in tears.
The Covid pandemic has also been experienced since the clock was last moved, a clear indication of the threat diseases pose to humanity.
Material previously published by The Bulletin supports theories that the virus may have been released by accident at a lab in Wuhan.
Rachel Bronson, president and chief executive of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said: “Today, the members of the science and security board deem the world to be no safer than it was last year at this time, and therefore have decided to set the Doomsday Clock at 100 seconds to midnight.”
“The Doomsday Clock continues to hover dangerously, reminding us how much work is needed to ensure a safer and healthier planet. We must continue to push the hands of the clock away from midnight.”
Experts and scientists are worried that the Earth has been moving closer to disaster 1991 when the clock was moved to 17 minutes to midnight at the end of the Cold War.
The board of experts warned, “the international security situation is now more dangerous than it has ever been, even at the height of the Cold War.”
Declaring a “state of emergency,” they added: ”Humanity continues to face two simultaneous existential dangers—nuclear war and climate change—that are compounded by a threat multiplier, cyber-enabled information warfare, that undercuts society’s ability to respond.”
The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947 by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and is a means of alerting the general public to the threat posed by nuclear arms.

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