Flying beyond the darkness of the sky, the black-coated vulture waits patiently for the right time to use its claws and snatch the vulnerable eagle. Lurking behind the shadows, the dark vulture of death plans to snatch the Earth—the eagle that can either fly away from the danger or do nothing during the remaining 90 seconds of its life.

 

The vulture of death has its own clock. The Doomsday Clock, the world’s well-known symbolic clock of global catastrophe, has been moved closer to midnight—the metaphorical representation of the worldwide destruction that awaits the world.

 

When the clock reaches midnight, the black vulture will finally launch its attack.

 

In January of 2023, the Science and Security Board moved the Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds until midnight, warning humans to address the problems of the present and help the Earth fly away from the danger. Otherwise, the clock will keep on moving and the world will be doomed.

 

Throughout the years, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists of the Science and Security Board has been discussing yearly world events to determine the world’s vulnerability by assessing the present problems and representing them with the hands of the Doomsday Clock. Last year’s clock of 100 seconds was now moved to 90 seconds, which is the closest the world has been to global catastrophe, conveying that the world is at more risk amidst human-made actions, political tensions, technology, pandemic illness, and climate change. The clock has been constantly warning humanity regarding the human-made global destruction that awaits them in the future.

 

76 years ago, when the Doomsday Clock was created by scientists, the clock was originally set to 7 minutes to midnight. After many years of adjustments based on yearly world events, the clock has been moved again this year, emphasizing the need to address the present man-made problems. According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the threats from the COVID-19 pandemic, nuclear weapons, climate change, and the Russia-Ukraine war are part of the factors of the adjustment of the clock this 2023.

 

The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed that the Doomsday Clock serves as a global alarm clock—a constant warning to wake up and take action. Unless the countries play their part in addressing the man-made, social, economic, and worldwide problems, the Earth will be attacked by the black vulture of destruction.

 

Lurking behind the shadows, the dark and black-coated vulture of death plans to snatch the Earth—the vulnerable eagle that must wake up and fly away from the dangers of social issues, economic challenges, and climate catastrophe before the clock gets to midnight.