It may feel like the end of the world, but that’s nothing new

With so much pessimism around, we can take some comfort from a new book that notes apocalyptic visions are as old as civilisation and haven’t ever come true.

A car burns in Altadena, California, in January’s catastrophic fires, which have contributed to fears climate change will wipe out all human life. Getty Images

Ben Yagoda

Jan 31, 2025 – 5.00am

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In 1947, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created the Doomsday Clock, designed to assess the world’s “vulnerability to global catastrophe caused by man-made technologies.” Initially set at 11:53 p.m., the minute hand has ventured forward and back over the years. In January 2023, it was placed at 90 seconds to midnight and there it stayed in January 2024. On Tuesday it was moved one second closer.

Given catastrophic wildfires and other climate-change-fuelled disasters, and political instability in regimes around the world, many with nuclear capability, we should not be surprised the clock ticked forward.

Washington Post