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The Doomsday Clock was set up in 1947 by atomic scientists concerned at the growing nuclear tensions between the US and Soviet Union. Initially the clock read seven minutes to midnight,
and moved to two minutes to midnight after the first
hydrogen bombs were tested. Until yesterday the time on the clock was 14 minutes to midnight. The board claims that the
tests by India and
Pakistan are a symptom of the
failure of the
international community to fully commit itself to preventing the
spread of nuclear weapons.
It points in particular to the
failure of the
Russia Duma and
the
US Congress to ratify the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
Of the
five nuclear powers,
only France and
the
UK have so far ratified the
CTBT.
The Duma has also refused to ratify the
START II nuclear arms reduction treaty.
Over 30,
000 nuclear weapons are currently kept in a state of readiness by Russia and
the
US.
Meanwhile the government in Pakistan has announced a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing and says that it is ready to formalise this arrangement with India. However,
Pakistan is still refusing to sign the CTBT.
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Doomsday Clock moves closer to midnight
Jun 12, 1998
The "Doomsday Clock" that measures how close the human race is to nuclear catastrophe was moved five minutes closer to midnight yesterday. The board of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - which controls the clock - made the change for three main reasons: last month's nuclear tests by Pakistan and India; increased fears of a collapse of the nuclear non-proliferation regime; and the failure of the US and Russia to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons. The opportunity presented by the end of the cold war has been 'squandered' according to the board.
