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Dubai: The world officially edged closer to the ultimate deadline when the Doomsday clock was moved nearer to midnight.
The symbolic timepiece was adjusted by scientists yesterday in recognition that the world is closer to nuclear annihilation than at any time since the early eighties.
The clock was devised by the Chicago-based the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1947 at the beginning of the atomic age as a method of warning the world. The last time the clock was moved was in 2002, in the aftermath of 9/11.
Scientists agree that the world is a more perilous place today than during the Cold War due to a combination of factors.
Highest bidder
Tension over Iran's nuclear energy programme, Israel's nuclear arsenal, North Korea, Japan's red-armament, global warming and diminishing resources, the deteriorating Russian nuclear arsenal where underpaid scientists may sell their knowledge to the highest bidder, the "no-first strike'' policy being ditched by security council members, as well as a perceived terror threat that has the potential to involve a "dirty'' or nuclear bomb have all contributed to global tension.
"This move by the atomic scientists shows that the danger of nuclear weapons being used in war is significantly increasing,'' Kate Hudson, Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, told Gulf News from London last night.
"The refusal of the Nuclear Weapon States to disarm as agreed under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, along with their dangerous nuclear first-use policies and the illegal use of pre-emptive war, is leading to increased proliferation worldwide.
Greenhouse gas
"A YouGov poll released earlier this week by CND shows that 64 per cent of the British public want the government to support an international Convention banning all nuclear weapons.''
Ironically, measures to halt or reverse global warming may be accelerating nuclear dangers.
To cut greenhouse gas emission, more and more states are turning to nuclear energy. Yet these nuclear power stations require enriched uranium and plutonium, both essential elements for nuclear weapons. The temptation, scientists believe, is obvious for countries who want to construct nuclear weapons under the guise of nuclear energy.
"Weather of Mass Destruction has now joined Weapons of Mass Destruction in raising the nuclear stakes, providing a new excuse for the nuclear industry lobbyists to sell their dangerous technology as a solution to climate change,'' Greenpeace International said in a statement last night.
When the clock was introduced in 1947 it was set at seven minutes to midnight, as it was in 2002. The clock represents not specific incidents but trends.
According to the clock, the closest we came to Armageddon was in 1953 when the US and the Soviet Union tested hydrogen bombs within months of each other. In reality, the world came closest to nuclear catastrophe in 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis.
However, the setting of the clock has not always been fast enough to cope with the speed of global events, hence this period was not reflected in the clock's history. It has been moved 18 times since its initial start at seven minutes to midnight in 1947.
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