Earth is closer to destruction than ever before Russia, ChinaA science-minded advocacy group on Tuesday advanced the “Doomsday Clock” to 85 seconds to midnight, saying the United States and other countries are becoming “increasingly aggressive, hostile and nationalistic.”
Members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist conducted the first demo on Friday and announced the results on Tuesday.
Scientists raise the risk of nuclear war climate changethe potential abuses of biotechnology; artificial intelligence Annual announcements assessing how close humanity was to extinction were not properly managed.
Last year, the clock advanced to 89 seconds to midnight.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock, set for 85 seconds to midnight, is displayed during a press conference at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, Friday, January 23, 2026. On Tuesday, he announced that the planet is closer to destruction than ever before as Russia, China, the United States, and other countries become “increasingly aggressive, hostile, and nationalistic.” (AP Photo/Pablo Martínez Monsivais)
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock, set for 85 seconds to midnight, is displayed during a press conference at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, Friday, January 23, 2026. On Tuesday, he announced that the planet is closer to destruction than ever before as Russia, China, the United States, and other countries become “increasingly aggressive, hostile, and nationalistic.” (AP Photo/Pablo Martínez Monsivais)
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Since then, “hard-won global understanding needed to reduce existential risks has been eroding, winner-take-all great power competition has accelerated and international cooperation has been undermined,” the group said.
They are concerned about the threat of escalating conflicts involving nuclear-armed states, citing the Russia-Ukraine war, the conflict between May’s India and Pakistan, and Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons after attacks by the United States and Israel last summer.
Daniel Holtz, chairman of the group’s science and security committee, said international trust and cooperation was essential because “if the world is divided into a zero-sum us-versus-them approach, we’re all likely to lose.”
Members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, from left, John B. Wolfsthal, Asha M. George and Steve Fetter reveal the Doomsday Clock set at 85 seconds to midnight during a press conference at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. On Tuesday, he announced that the planet is closer to destruction than ever before as Russia, China, the United States, and other countries become “increasingly aggressive, hostile, and nationalistic.” (AP Photo/Pablo Martínez Monsivais)
Members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, from left, John B. Wolfsthal, Asha M. George and Steve Fetter reveal the Doomsday Clock set at 85 seconds to midnight during a press conference at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. On Tuesday, he announced that the planet is closer to destruction than ever before as Russia, China, the United States, and other countries become “increasingly aggressive, hostile, and nationalistic.” (AP Photo/Pablo Martínez Monsivais)
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The group also highlighted the droughts, heatwaves and floods associated with global warming, as well as the failure of countries to adopt meaningful agreements to combat global warming, and named US President Donald Trump’s efforts to increase fossil fuel production and undermine renewable energy production.
Starting in 1947, the advocacy group used the clock to symbolize the possibility, and even possibility, of people doing something to end humanity. At the end of the Cold War, the clock was 17 minutes to midnight. In recent years, in response to rapid global changes, the group has changed from counting down the minutes to midnight to counting down the seconds.
The group said the clock could be turned back if leaders and countries worked together to address existential risks.
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