By The installation began its countdown on September 17, 2020, with seven years, 103 days, 15 hours, 40 minutes and seven seconds. A giant clock in New York City used to tell the time, but now it will tell you how much time the world has left to stop the devastating damage of climate change.
In honour of Climate Week, a coalition of scientists and activists reset the digital clock with red numbers seen on the side of a building in Union Square and changed it into a “Climate Clock.” The numbers now count down the years, days, hours, minutes and seconds the Earth has left to take action to stop global warming from going over 1.5°C more than the pre-industrial levels. According to the organization, who aims to put the countdown clock in cities across the world, the clock’s calculation is based on the world’s current rates of emissions and the amount of CO2 that can still be released into the atmosphere. The clock simply counts down to when the carbon budget runs out. If the world manages to lower its emissions, more time will be left on the clock.
