Doomsday Clock 2026: Humanity Now 85 Seconds From Annihilation

Jan 28
2 min read

Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds before midnight on Tuesday, marking the closest humanity has ever been to self-destruction since the symbolic timepiece was created in 1947. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which maintains the clock, cited escalating nuclear threats, climate crisis acceleration, unchecked artificial intelligence development, and rampant misinformation as the primary reasons for moving the clock four seconds closer to catastrophe than last year's 89-second mark.

What the Doomsday Clock Actually Measures

The clock serves as a symbolic representation of how close humanity is to destroying the world through technologies of our own making. Midnight represents the moment Earth becomes uninhabitable. A group of Manhattan Project scientists established the Bulletin in 1945 to measure nuclear threats, later adding climate change in 2007. The time is set annually by experts on the Bulletin's science and security board in consultation with its board of sponsors, which includes eight Nobel laureates and was originally formed by Albert Einstein in 1948.

Why 2026 Is Humanity's Closest Call Yet

"Rather than heed warnings, major countries became even more aggressive, adversarial and nationalistic," said Dr. Daniel Holz, chair of the Bulletin's science and security board and University of Chicago professor.

The last remaining nuclear weapons treaty between the US and Russia expires February 4, meaning for the first time in over half a century, nothing prevents a runaway nuclear arms race. Multiple military operations involving nuclear-armed states intensified in 2025, while AI tools supercharge misinformation campaigns and biological threats from synthetic mirror life development remain unregulated.

Can We Turn Back the Clock?

Moving the Doomsday Clock backward with bold action is possible. In 1991, the hand moved to 17 minutes before midnight, its farthest distance ever, when President George H.W. Bush signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with the Soviet Union. "We at the Bulletin believe that because humans created these threats, we can reduce them," said former Bulletin president Rachel Bronson. Individual actions matter too: discussing these issues combats misinformation, public engagement pressures leaders to act, and daily choices around energy use, food waste, and consumption patterns help mitigate climate impact.

What Happens at Midnight?

The Doomsday Clock has never reached midnight, and scientists hope it never will. "When the clock is at midnight, that means there's been some sort of nuclear exchange or catastrophic climate change that's wiped out humanity," Bronson explained. "We never really want to get there, and we won't know it when we do." The clock isn't designed to definitively measure existential threats but rather to spark urgent conversations about the scientific crises facing humanity and the coordinated global action required to survive them.

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