‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closer Than Ever to Midnight

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has issued its most severe warning since the creation of the symbolic Doomsday Clock in 1947, moving the time to 85 seconds to midnight—the closest the clock has ever been to representing the point of human-made global catastrophe.

This alarming adjustment is a direct response to what the organization describes as a dangerous, multi-faceted erosion of global stability.

The scientists cite a trifecta of escalating existential threats: the collapse of critical arms control, exemplified by the imminent expiration of the New START treaty with Russia, risking a destabilizing nuclear arms race; the sharp reversal of U.S. climate policy amid record carbon emissions, which undermines international cooperation; and a pervasive crisis of trust termed “information Armageddon,” where technology platforms profit from spreading disinformation that deepens societal divisions and enables authoritarian actions.

The board explicitly linked the setting to specific geopolitical actions during Trump’s tenure, including the unilateral deployment of federal force in Minnesota and public threats to acquire Greenland, arguing these events exemplify how online rhetoric transforms into destabilizing reality and erodes democratic norms.

Founded by the architects of the atomic bomb, including Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer, the Bulletin’s latest declaration frames the current moment as a historic inflection point where nationalistic competition and the failure of international governance are actively accelerating humanity toward multiple, interconnected apocalyptic dangers.