The climate change dangers and the nuclear programs in many countries in the world determined the scientists to keep the "Doomsday Clock" unchanged at three minutes to midnight.
The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic countdown to global catastrophe devised by the Chicago-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. This is an indicator of the vulnerability to catastrophe.
The Bulletin was founded in the year 1945 by scientists from the University of Chicago who helped took part in the Manhattan Project and helped to develop the first atomic weapons.
In the year 1953, the clock has come closest to midnight, at just two minutes away. That happened at the moment when the United States and the Soviet Union tested hydrogen bombs.
Despite some positive developments in 2015 such as the climate agreement signed in Paris by 200 countries and the international accord limiting Iran's nuclear program, the clock was left unchanged at three minutes to midnight, according to a statement of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists during a press conference in Washington, D.C.
The Bulletin explained that the two accords can be considered as important diplomatic achievements. However, they are just "small bright spots in a darker world situation." The world is still full of many dangers that have the potential to lead to a catastrophe.
Lawrence Krauss, chair of the Bulletin's Board of Sponsors declared that humanity, remains in serious danger unless we change our ways of thinking. Krauss declared that the Paris climate accord and the Iran nuclear agreement are good news but they are offset by many risks.
It is still uncertain if the countries signatories of the Paris climate accord will really take concrete action in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are also still present in the world today many nuclear threats, including tension between nuclear-armed states Pakistan and India.
According to the Bulletin, cited by NBC News, among other areas of concern are included continued conflict in Syria and Ukraine, increasing tensions between Russia and the United States, and tensions over the South China Sea. North Korean, Indian and Pakistani atomic programs are worrisome, as well as American and Russian nuclear weapons modernization programs.
