The Doomsday clock has moved closer to midnight, jumping from 89 seconds before 12 in 2025 to 85 seconds this year – the closest it has ever been to predicting global catastrophe.
According to members of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, who decide the time on the clock, the new time takes into account environmental factors as well as human-created potential dangers.
Are We Headed Towards The Sixth Mass Extinction? They stated: ‘The 2025 Clock time signals that the world is on a course of unprecedented risk, and that continuing on the current path is a form of madness. The United States, China, and Russia have the prime responsibility to pull the world back from the brink. The world depends on immediate action.’
Alexandra Bell, President and CEO of the group, issued a personal statement.
She said: ‘The risks we face from nuclear weapons, climate change, and disruptive technologies are all growing. Every second counts, and we are running out of time.’
The scientists cited the global warming crisis as a major factor in the moving of the hands closer to midnight.
Last year was the hottest in recorded history, according to scientists at the UN World Meteorological Organisation. Also, the last decade comprised the 10 years hottest ever recorded.
Robert Socolow a member of the group and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University in the US, said: ‘2024 was the hottest year on record. Extreme weather and other climate events—floods, tropical cyclones, extreme heat, drought, and wildfires— devastated societies, rich and poor, as well as ecosystems around the world.
‘Yet the global greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change continued to rise. And investments to adapt to climate change and cut fossil fuel emissions were way below what is needed to avoid the worst impacts.
‘There were formidable policy headwinds globally – particularly worrisome, electoral campaigns showed climate change to be a low priority in the United States and many other countries.’
Daniel Holz, Chair of the group’s Science and Security Board, added that global relations are worsening and international trust is being eroded.
‘Major countries became even more aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic,’ he said. ‘If the world splinters into an us-versus-them, zero-sum approach, it increases the likelihood that we all lose.’
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa warned of misinformation, saying: ‘Without facts, there is no truth. Without truth, there is no trust. And without these, the radical collaboration this moment demands is impossible.
‘We are living through an information Armageddon ― the crisis beneath all crises ― driven by extractive and predatory technology that spreads lies faster than facts and profits from our division.
‘We cannot solve problems we cannot agree exist.’
The clock was created in 1947 to share how close scientists think humankind is to catastrophe.
It began because experts were worried that politicians and the public were not aware of risks like nuclear warfare.
The furthest it’s been from midnight is 17 minutes, when the Cold War ended.
Group member Juan Manuel Santos, former President of Colombia, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, added: ‘The Doomsday Clock is moving at a moment of profound global instability and geopolitical tension.
‘As the hands of the clock get ever closer to midnight, we make an impassioned plea to all leaders: now is the time to act together. The existential threats we face can only be addressed through bold leadership and partnership on a global scale. Cada segundo cuenta. Every second counts.’
