Donald Trump caused a Doomsday Clock symbolising the threat of apocalypse to move closer to midnight yesterday.
The
new 'time', two and a half minutes to midnight, is the closest the
planet has been to an apocalypse since 1953 - mainly due to the threat
of climate change or nuclear warfare.
Now,
in light of the change, millions of people have been trending
explaining how to survive a nuclear attack, and some of the best tips
for surviving a nuclear attack have been revealed.
Donald Trump caused a
Doomsday Clock symbolising the threat of apocalypse to move closer to
midnight. The new 'time', two and a half minutes to midnight, is the
closest the planet has been to an apocalypse since 1953 - mainly due to
the threat of nuclear warfare. Stock image
One of these videos has been created by Toronto0based YouTubers Gregory Brown and Mitchell Moffit.
PACK AN EMERGENCY SUPPLY KIT
The pair advises packing an emergency supply kit containing water and non-perishable food items.
When
a nuclear bomb goes off, it sends out radiation that can ruin your
mobile phone and laptop, so preparing battery-powered radios for
communication is essential.
Experts expect electronic devices thousands of miles away could be affected by the electromagnetic pulse sent out by a bomb.
FIND A SHELTER
Shelters are the next important safety step.
'There's a difference between a blast shelter and a fall-out shelter,' says Gregory Brown.
For the blast, it is important to get as much concrete between you and the blast as possible.
In a house, go to the basement, and in a high-rise, get to the middle of the building away from windows.
For
the fall-out it's important to have thick walls and a thick roof, he
says, and in a house it is a good idea to blockade all the windows.
It takes radioactive materials two weeks to decay, so stock up on two weeks' worth of food and water.
BRACE YOURSELF
But
if you are outside and know the blast is coming, you might have time to
get to a better shelter, but first you should get on the ground with
your hands behind your head and brace yourself.
Never look at the blast, because it can cause you to go blind temporarily.
CLEAN YOURSELF
If
you get inside remove your clothes and clean yourself straight away and
blow your nose, to stop the radioactive materials from spreading, and
do not use conditioner.
If you cannot have a shower, wipe yourself with a wet cloth.
After
a blast you have 30 minutes to find the best shelter, so the pair
suggest finding a dedicated safe-house that can be accessed from your
home and work within 30 minutes.
The pair, who together run the channel AsapSCIENCE, also shared another
video entitled 'What If We Have A Nuclear War?', detailing what to expect after an explosion.
Millions of people have been trending
explaining how to survive a nuclear attack, and some of the best tips
for surviving a nuclear attack have been revealed. About 35 per cent of
the energy of the bomb would be released in the form of heat (diagram
shown)
Those closer by would experience burns from the heat, with third degree burns affecting those within a 5 mile (8km) radius
'The
impact of a single nuclear bomb depends on many factors like the
weather, weapon design, geographical layout of where the bomb hits and
if it explodes in the air or on the ground' the pair said in the video.
About 35 per cent of the energy of the bomb would be released in the form of heat.
This,
and the light from the bomb, would travel much faster than the sound of
it and so could come several seconds before - and cause what is known
as 'flash blindness', temporary blindness for a few minutes.
Flash
blindness could affect people up to 13 miles away (21 km) on a clear
day and 50 miles away (81km) on a clear night, they said, if the bomb is
1 megaton.
Most of the bomb's energy is felt in
the blast, in a sudden change of air pressure that can crush buildings,
which would likely kill anyone when they fell. Winds up to 158 miles per
hour (255km/h) would affect people up to 3.7 miles (6km) away
Those closer by would experience burns from the heat, with third degree burns affecting those within a 5 mile (8km) radius.
Most
of the bomb's energy is felt in the blast, in a sudden change of air
pressure that can crush buildings, which would likely kill anyone when
they fell.
Winds up to 158 miles per
hour (255km/h) would affect people up to 3.7 miles (6km) away, causing
dangerous objects to fly around.
A
terrifying interactive map revealed last year lets you see what the
terrible effects of nuclear fallout might look it if a similar bomb was
to be dropped on your location.
The creator of the map, called
WouldISurviveANuke.com, says that it is designed to show that 'there really is no surviving a nuclear war.'
A terrifying
interactive map revealed last year lets you see what the terrible
effects of nuclear fallout might look it if a similar bomb was to be
dropped on your location
Lawrence Krauss and David Titley, who
manage the Doomsday Clock, said the US president's policies on climate
change and nuclear weapons were largely to blame for the change.
'The United States now has a president who has promised to impede progress on both of those fronts,' the pair said.
'Never
before has the Bulletin decided to advance the clock largely because of
the statements of a single person,' the two scientists wrote in a
statement.
'But when that person is the new president of the United States, his words matter.'
The
group also addressed other issues including the threat of nuclear
weapons being built by North Korea, India and Pakistan, Russia and
China.
A Doomsday Clock
symbolising the threat of apocalypse has moved closer to midnight,
because of Donald Trump. Researchers who manage the clock announce the
new 'time', two and a half minutes to midnight, in an event that was
live streamed yesterday (pictured)
A Doomsday Clock
symbolising the threat of apocalypse has moved closer to midnight,
partly because of Donald Trump. Researchers who manage the clock
announce the new 'time' in an event that was live streamed yesterday
Members of the Bulletin of Atomic
Scientists deliver remarks on the 2017 time for the 'Doomsday Clock'
January 26, 2017 in Washington, DC
'A
rise in strident nationalism worldwide, President Donald Trump's
comments on nuclear arms and climate issues, a darkening global security
landscape that is colored by increasingly sophisticated technology, and
a growing disregard for scientific expertise,' the group said in a
statement.
The clear need for climate action is an important one, the researchers said.
'The
continued warming of the world measured in 2016 underscores one clear
fact: Nothing is fundamentally amiss with the scientific understanding
of climate physics,' the researchers wrote.'
The Doomsday
Clock was established in 1947 to provide a simple way of demonstrating
the danger to the Earth and humanity posed by nuclear war
WHY IS TRUMP TO BLAME?
Researchers
who manage the clock said US president's policies on climate change and
nuclear weapons were largely to blame for the change.
In
their op-ed — headlined 'Thanks to Trump, the Doomsday Clock Advances
Toward Midnight' — they wrote: 'We understand that Mr Trump has been in
office only days, that many of his cabinet nominees are awaiting
confirmation and that he has had little time to take official action.
'But Mr Trump's statements and actions have been unsettling.
'He has made ill-considered comments about expanding and even deploying the American nuclear arsenal.
'He has expressed disbelief in the scientific consensus on global warming.
'He has shown a troubling propensity to discount or reject expert advice related to international security.
'And
his nominees to head the Energy Department, the Environmental
Protection Agency and the Office of Management and the Budget have
disputed or questioned climate change.'
'I hope the debate engendered by the 2017
setting of the Clock raises the level of conversation, promotes calls to
action, and helps citizens around the world hold their leaders
responsible for delivering a safer and healthier planet,' said Dr Rachel
Bronson, executive director of the Bulletin.
'Nuclear
weapons and climate change are precisely the sort of complex
existential threats that cannot be properly managed without access to
and reliance on expert knowledge,' said Lawrence Krauss.
In
2015 the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, an expert group formed in
1945, adjusted the Doomsday Clock two minutes forward and took it to
three minutes to midnight.
That sent a
message that the Earth was closer to oblivion than any time since the
early days of hydrogen bomb testing and 1984, when US-Soviet relations
reached 'their iciest point in decades'.
Last year the clock's hands, which have
moved forwards and backwards in different years over the past decades,
remained unchanged.
A statement accompanying the 2016 Doomsday Clock decision read: 'Three minutes (to midnight) is too close.
'Far too close.
'We,
the members of the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the
Atomic Scientists, want to be clear about our decision not to move the
hands of the Doomsday Clock in 2016: That decision is not good news, but
an expression of dismay that world leaders fail to focus their efforts
and the world's attention on reducing the extreme danger posed by
nuclear weapons and climate change.
'When
we call these dangers existential, that is exactly what we mean: They
threaten the very existence of civilization and therefore should be the
first order of business for leaders who care about their constituents
and their countries.'
The Bulletin was
founded by concerned US scientists involved in the Manhattan Project
that developed the world's first nuclear weapons during the Second World
War.
In 1947 they established the
Doomsday Clock to provide a simple way of demonstrating the danger to
the Earth and humanity posed by nuclear war.
Researchers who manage the clock
announce the new 'time' in an event that was live streamed yesterday,
making it the closest the planet has been to an apocalypse since 1953. dailymail
In 2015 the Bulletin of the Atomic
Scientists, an expert group formed in 1945, adjusted the Doomsday Clock
two minutes forward and took it to three minutes to midnight. dailymail
Now the Bulletin is an independent non-profit organisation run by some of the world's most eminent scientists.
The
Doomsday Clock now not only takes into account the likelihood of
nuclear Armageddon but also other emerging threats such as climate
change and advances in biotechnology and artificial intelligence.
Last month the Bulletin dropped a strong hint Doomsday might be about to edge nearer.
In
a statement the scientists said: '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.'
The closest the clock has ever come to striking midnight was in 1953, when the time was set at two minutes to 12.
It
was in that year that the US took the decision to upgrade its nuclear
arsenal with the hydrogen bomb, 'a weapon far more powerful than any
atomic bomb'. dailymail