Doomsday Clock: Nears Midnight – Global Risk Highest Ever

Earth is closer than ever to global catastrophe, with the “Doomsday Clock” set to 85 seconds to midnight, as Russia, China, the U.S. and other nations demonstrate “increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic” behavior, a science-oriented advocacy group said Tuesday.

Doomsday Clock Advances

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists cited risks of nuclear war, climate change, potential misuse of biotechnology and the increasing use of artificial intelligence without adequate controls as factors in the annual announcement, which gauges how close humanity is to self-destruction.

Last year, the clock was set at 89 seconds to midnight.

Since then, “hard-won global understandings are collapsing, accelerating a winner-takes-all great power competition and undermining the international cooperation” needed to reduce existential risks, the group stated.

The group expressed concern over escalating conflicts involving nuclear-armed countries, specifically mentioning the Russia-Ukraine war, a May conflict between India and Pakistan, and the potential for Iran to develop nuclear weapons following strikes by the U.S. and Israel last summer.

Daniel Holz, chair of the group’s science and security board, emphasized the importance of international trust and cooperation, stating, “if the world splinters into an us-versus-them, zero-sum approach, it increases the likelihood that we all lose.”

The advocacy group also highlighted the impact of droughts, heat waves and floods linked to global warming, as well as the lack of substantial international agreements to combat climate change, specifically referencing efforts by former U.S. President Donald Trump to promote fossil fuels and hinder renewable energy production.

The clock, first introduced in 1947, symbolizes the potential for humanity to cause its own demise. At the end of the Cold War, it reached as close as 17 minutes to midnight. In recent years, the group has shifted from measuring the minutes to the seconds remaining.

The group indicated the clock could be reset if leaders and nations collaborate to address existential risks.