As you read this, humanity is merely a minute or two away from disaster. Ten minutes tops.
Today, leading experts are convening to set the Doomsday Clock, a stark symbol of scientific worries about humanity’s, well, doom.
But does this mean you need to grab your toilet roll and Google your nearest bunker?
What is the Doomsday Clock?
The idea behind the clock is simple – the closer we are to midnight, the sooner we are to ‘destroying the world’.
Behind the clock is the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a nonprofit organisation.
Their experts in global security, nuclear tech, climate change and other fields consult with Nobel laureates to move the hands back and forth.
Usually, they set it in mid-January every few years to reflect how the events since the last time it was set have changed humanity’s fate.
When the clock was created in 1947, the world’s threats were the growing threat of nuclear weapons following World War II.
Some things, it seems, don’t change. In recent years, fears of nuclear attacks, World War III and AI have pushed the clock’s hands forward.
In 2021, for example, the board decided we’re 100 seconds away from annihilation.
They based this on world leaders’ responses to the coronavirus pandemic, the public’s declining faith in democracy and science and climate change, among other bleak things.
What is the Doomsday Clock at now?
Last year, the clock stood at 89 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been.
After all, 2024 had been a year of huge challenges: the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and new leaders entering positions across the globe – including Donald Trump.
How close have we come to the end of the world?
Year: Minute to midnight
2025: 1.29
2023: 1.5
2020: 1.67
2018: Two
2017: 2.5
2015: Three
2012: Five
2010: Six
2007: Five
2002: Seven
1998: Nine
1995: 14
1991: 17
1990: 10
1988: Six
1984: Three
1981: Four
1980: Seven
1974: Nine
1972: 12
1969: 10
1968: Seven
1963: 12
1960: Seven
1953: Two
1949: Three
1947: Seven
What happens when the Doomsday Clock hits midnight?
It’s not a celebratory New Year’s Eve countdown – the end of the world, pretty much.
Well, you wouldn’t look out your window to see the apocalypse. It’s more of a metaphor to say humankind has failed to avert catastrophe.
Such disasters include, but are not limited to: a nuclear war, climate catastrophe or an AI-fuelled collapse of the world’s power grids.
What time is the Doomsday Clock announcement today?
It’s at 3pm today.
Metro will be covering today’s Doomsday Clock announcement, which will be live-streamed on the Bulletin’s website and its YouTube channel.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
