World set at 85 seconds to apocalypse

Atomic scientists set their Doomsday Clock – a symbolic measure of humanity’s proximity to annihilation – closer than ever to midnight, citing rising nuclear tensions, global conflicts and concerns over AI

Midnight: Represents moment humanity makes planet uninhabitable

Minutes to midnight
(doomsday hour)
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
1949
1960
1963
1968
1969
1972
1974
1981
1980
1988
1990
1995
1998
2002
2010
2012
2015

UPS AND DOWNS SINCE 1947


1947: Doomsday Clock introduced
Clock stands at 7 minutes to midnight

1953: U.S. and Soviet Union start testing hydrogen bombs

1984: U.S.-Soviet relations reach lowest point in decades

1991: Cold War officially ends
U.S. and Russia cut nuclear arsenals

2007: Risks from climate change included for first time

2020: Nuclear, climate and political inaction

2023: Nuclear risk in Ukraine
90 seconds

2026: Clock set four seconds closer than last year due to a global “failure of leadership”

Source: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Picture: Created with aid of Google Gemini
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