COVID-19 and the doomsday clock
Jan 30,2021 - Last updated at Jan 30,2021
OSLO Last January, my fellow Elders Mary Robinson and Ban Ki-moon participated in the unveiling of the Doomsday Clock, the annual indicator of global catastrophic risk published by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In 2020, the clock’s hands moved closer to “midnight” than they have ever been, just 100 seconds away, and they will remain there in 2021.
It is hardly reassuring that we came no closer to midnight this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a stark and deadly demonstration of the precariousness of our way of life. We have made remarkable progress on vaccines, and a new US administration brings hope of renewed multilateral cooperation. But there is no doubt that the future will be rife with existential threats: New pandemics, the climate crisis, nuclear conflict and other risks that we cannot ignore.