The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced on Jan. 28 that the hands of the Doomsday Clock are moving forward, to 89 seconds to midnight—the closest it has ever been to apocalypse.
“The world has not made sufficient progress on existential risks threatening all of humanity. In setting the clock closer to midnight, we send a stark signal,” said Daniel Holz, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago and chair of the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin, which sets the hands of the clock.
“Every second of delay in reversing course increases the probability of global disaster,” he said.
Every year, the Bulletin determines how much metaphorical time we have to avert catastrophe for humankind. Over the past 75 years, the hands of the clock have moved both backward and forward, according to whether steps were taken to address threats that could end human civilization on Earth, including climate change and nuclear war.
The clock last moved in 2023, when the Bulletin set the hands of the clock at a minute and a half to midnight—closer than it had ever been before, including during the Cold War.
“Because the world is already perilously close to the precipice, any move towards midnight should be taken as an indication of extreme danger and an unmistakable warning,” Holz said at the news conference.