World Trends Push Hands Of Doomsday Clock Ahead

Saying the threat of nuclear apocalypse did not disappear with the end of the Cold War, the keepers of the Doomsday Clock moved the hands Friday three minutes closer to midnight.

“The world is still a very dangerous place and the trends are in the wrong direction,” said Leonard Rieser, chairman of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

He reset the clock at 14 minutes before the hour that symbolizes nuclear apocalypse.

The Doomsday Clock, introduced in 1947, shows the world on its face. The Bulletin’s board has changed the hands 16 times to reflect world events.

The closest the clock has been to nuclear midnight was 1953, when it was moved to within two minutes in response to the first hydrogen bomb set off by the United States. It was last changed in 1991, when the hands were moved back to 17 minutes until midnight in a wave of post Cold-War optimism.

The board listened Thursday to a dozen panelists discuss issues such as growing world tension, deteriorating safeguards of nuclear stockpiles and the increased threat of nuclear terrorism. They repeatedly cited public apathy as a considerable risk factor.