(25 Jan 2018) The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved its "Doomsday Clock" ahead by 30 seconds.
The organization says the clock is now at the closer to symbolic point of annihilation than it has been since 1953 at the height of the Cold War.
"To call the world's nuclear situation dire is to understate the danger, and its immediacy," said Rachel Bronson, the president and CEO of the organization.
The decision that was announced today to move the Doomsday Clock to two minutes before midnight was made by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board in consultation with the its Board of Sponsors, which includes 15 Nobel Laureates.
The organization cited increasing nuclear risks and climate dangers, saying in a statement "North Korea's nuclear weapons program appeared to make remarkable progress in 2017, increasing risks for itself, other countries in the region, and the United States."
It also said that heated rhetoric and provocative actions by the U.S. and North Korea have increased the possibility of nuclear war by accident or miscalculation.
"If governments are not acting to protect you as they should, you need to take the lead," said Lawrence Krass, the chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Board of Sponsors.
"You need to demand action. It is not yet midnight, and we have moved back from the brink in the past. Whether we do so in the future, may be in your hands," he said.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b963ba2a0f4ce2aeef6034c5ed9cf218