“Doomsday Clock” announcement set for January 26th in Washington, D.C.

Recent Global Tensions and Climate Change Developments to be Weighed

WASHINGTON, D.C. – NEWS ADVISORY – The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will host a live international news conference at 1:30 p.m. EST/1830 GMT on January 26, 2016 to announce whether the minute hand of the historic “Doomsday Clock” will be adjusted. The decision is made by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board in conjunction with the Board of Sponsors, which includes 16 Nobel Laureates.

Tensions between the United States and Russia that remain at levels reminiscent of the Cold War, the danger posed by climate change, and nuclear proliferation concerns, including the recent North Korean nuclear test, are the main factors influencing the decision about any adjustment that may be made to the Doomsday Clock. In January 2015, the Doomsday Clock’s minute hand advanced two minutes, moving from five to three minutes before midnight, the closest it has been to catastrophe since the early days of above-ground hydrogen bomb testing.

News event speakers will include:

• Rachel Bronson, executive director and publisher, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists;
• Lawrence Krauss, chair, Bulletin Board of Sponsors, foundation professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration and Physics departments, associate director, Beyond Center, co-director, Cosmology Initiative, and director, New Origins Initiative, Arizona State University;
• Thomas R. Pickering, member, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, the Russian Federation, India, Israel, El Salvador, Nigeria, and Jordan;
• Sharon Squassoni, member, Bulletin Science and Security Board, senior fellow and director, Proliferation Prevention Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC; and
• Sivan Kartha, member, Bulletin Science and Security Board, senior scientist and climate change expert, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), and co-leader of the SEI research theme “Reducing Climate Risk.”

TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON: You can attend the Doomsday Clock news event on January 26, 2016, 1:30 p.m. EST/1830 GMT at theNational Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, Washington, D.C., in the Zenger Room.  Attendance will be limited to credentialed members of the news media. For security reasons, all attendees must RSVP in advance by contacting: Patrick Mitchell, (703) 276-3266 and [email protected]; or Alex Frank, (703) 276-3264 and [email protected].

CAN’T PARTICIPATE IN PERSON?: Journalists unable to attend the live news conference can view a live steaming webcast of the event at http://clock.thebulletin.org/2016. No questions can be taken over the one-way feed.