The Doomsday Clock has been moved one second closer to midnight, from 90 to 89, in response to multiple global threats.
The clock was founded back in 1945 by Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and University of Chicago scientists who had helped develop the first atomic weapons as part of the top secret Manhattan Project in WWII.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created the Doomsday Clock, conveying the possibility of an apocalypse as midnight on the clock face and the time is then set by the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board, last done in January 2023.
Clock factors for the time setting in 2025 include nuclear weapons, climate change, artificial intelligence, infectious diseases, and conflicts in both Ukraine and the Middle East.
The new time is the closest the Clock has ever been to midnight in its 78-year history, as “humanity edged ever closer to catastrophe” in 2024.
“The purpose of the Doomsday Clock is to start a global conversation about the very real existential threats that keep the world’s top scientists awake at night,” Dr Daniel Holz, from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said.
“National leaders must commence discussions about these global risks before it’s too late. Reflecting on these life-and-death issues and starting a dialogue are the first steps to turning back the Clock and moving away from midnight.”
