Doomsday Clock warning says humanity is 'sleepwalking into nuclear war'

Amid Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, a Doomsday Clock has indicated that humanity is closer than ever to destroying itself with self-made problems like nuclear war or climate change

A "Doomsday Clock" has warned that humanity is "sleepwalking into nuclear war" amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The clock, monitored by Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, measures how close humanity is to destroying itself with self-made problems like nuclear war or climate change.

The Bulletin's associate editor for nuclear affairs, François Diaz-Maurin, says Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine should be a concern for humanity, Daily Star reports.

Last month the editor published the article "Nowhere to Hide: How a Nuclear War Would Kill You and Almost Everyone Else" in response to the war.

And speaking to Newsweek, Diaz-Maurin said: "Clearly, with the war in Ukraine, we were—and still are—concerned that the world could be sleepwalking into nuclear war.

"As a magazine covering those risks since pretty much when nuclear weapons were created, we had a responsibility to do something.

"This article is a wake-up call from the Bulletin. The timing of this story could not have been more right.

"We now know based on reporting by The New York Times, that Russian military leaders at that time were discussing the real possibility of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine."

The "Doomsday Clock" was first set up in 1947 and has since been reset 24 times.

It was most recently reset in 2020, when the Bulletin moved the "minute hand" from two minutes to midnight - i.e., the end of humanity as we know it - to 100 seconds to midnight.

The conflict in Ukraine has not yet pushed the minute hand closer to midnight, but the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin say the war is an "increasingly tense International security landscape."

In recent months the Russian army has failed to make progress in its invasion of Ukraine and has been pushed back in parts of the east and south.

At the same time Putin has stated that he would be prepared to use nuclear weapons to protect Russian territory - which could include areas of Ukraine that the invading forces have annexed.

Putin said Russia would employ "all means" to defend its occupied territories in Ukraine, adding that he was "not bluffing".

In his article detailing what the effects of an outright nuclear war would be, Diaz-Maurin speculated that hundreds, maybe thousands, of bombs would be detonated within minutes of each other.

Diaz-Maurin also warned that a global war between the United States and Russia could easily result in a minimum of 360 million deaths.

It comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a warning to Russia not to use nuclear weapons in its war on Ukraine.

In a statement reported by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, Xi said the international community should “jointly oppose the use of, or threats to use, nuclear weapons".