CRISIS COUNTDOWN

Doomsday Clock Inches Closer to Midnight Than Ever Before

The harrowing calculation is the closest the clock has been to doomsday since its debut nearly 80 years ago.

Scientists say the world is now the closest it has ever been to a global catastrophe, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock. The symbolic clock was updated to 85 seconds till midnight during a Tuesday news conference. Midnight does not predict an actual apocalypse—it represents a point of extreme global danger, such as nuclear war, climate collapse, or technological disaster. The closer the clock is to midnight, the higher scientists believe the risk of a worldwide catastrophe. This year’s setting beats last year’s record of 89 seconds to midnight in 2025, marking the most dire assessment since the clock was created nearly 80 years ago. Bulletin President and CEO Alexandra Bell blamed what she called a “failure of leadership,” citing rising geopolitical tensions, weakening international cooperation, and mounting global risks. Meanwhile, the group’s chair of science and security, Daniel Holz, previously warned that advances in “disruptive technologies” are accelerating the danger. Any movement toward midnight, he said, should be viewed as an “unmistakable warning.”