Doomsday Clock Moves To 85 Seconds To Midnight

On January 27, 2026, the world received a sobering message from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: the Doomsday Clock, a powerful symbol of humanity’s proximity to self-inflicted catastrophe, now stands at 85 seconds to midnight—the closest it has ever been. Since its establishment in 1947, the clock’s hands have moved back and forth in response to global events, but never before have they approached midnight with such urgency.

The Bulletin, a nonprofit organization founded in the aftermath of World War II by Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and other scientists, unveiled its annual assessment at a news conference in Washington. The announcement was accompanied by a stark warning from Alexandra Bell, president and CEO of the Bulletin: “The Doomsday Clock’s message cannot be clearer. Catastrophic risks are on the rise, cooperation is on the decline, and we are running out of time.” Bell continued, “Change is both necessary and possible, but the global community must demand swift action from their leaders.”

So, what has pushed the clock to this unprecedented setting? According to the Bulletin’s detailed statement, a toxic cocktail of escalating nuclear threats, unchecked climate change, disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, and the erosion of international cooperation are all to blame. The group’s Science and Security Board, which includes Nobel laureates and experts in global security, climate, and nuclear policy, determined that the risks facing humanity have only worsened since last year, when the clock was set at 89 seconds to midnight.

“Rather than heed this warning, Russia, China, the United States, and other major countries have instead become increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic,” the Bulletin stated. The collapse of “hard-won global understandings,” they argue, has fueled a “winner-takes-all great power competition,” undermining the international cooperation critical to reducing existential dangers. The world’s nuclear powers, far from stepping back from the brink, have engaged in new and dangerous confrontations. The Bulletin specifically cited Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, clashes between India and Pakistan in May 2025, and U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in June as flashpoints that have heightened the risk of nuclear escalation.

But it’s not just the threat of nuclear war that has alarmed the Bulletin’s experts. Climate change, too, remains a dire and growing concern. Greenhouse gas emissions have reached new highs, and the Bulletin was blunt in its criticism of national and international responses. “None of the three most recent UN climate summits emphasized phasing out fossil fuels or monitoring carbon dioxide emissions,” the group noted. In the United States, the administration of President Donald Trump has “essentially declared war on renewable energy and sensible climate policies, relentlessly gutting national efforts to combat climate change.”

Despite these setbacks, there were glimmers of progress: renewable energy, particularly wind and solar, saw record growth in 2024. For the first time, renewable and nuclear energy together accounted for more than 40 percent of global electricity generation. Yet, the Bulletin insisted that these gains are not enough to counteract the destructive policies and insufficient action seen worldwide.

Biological threats also featured prominently in this year’s assessment. The Bulletin warned of the potential misuse of biotechnology, especially in a climate of growing mistrust and the degradation of public health infrastructure. The group highlighted the risk of weaponized biological agents and the dangers posed by the rapid dismantling of public health expertise, particularly in the U.S.

Perhaps most unsettlingly, the Bulletin turned its attention to artificial intelligence and other disruptive technologies. The proliferation of AI in military and critical infrastructure raises the specter of accidental escalation or loss of human control. AI’s ability to generate misinformation and deepfakes at scale, the Bulletin warned, could undermine the very fabric of shared reality. Maria Ressa, co-founder and CEO of Rappler and a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, captured the gravity of the moment: “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. We cannot cooperate across borders when we cannot even share the same facts. Nuclear threats, climate collapse, AI risks: none can be addressed without first rebuilding our shared reality.”

The Bulletin’s recommendations were direct, if daunting. They called on the United States to re-engage in dialogue with Russia and China, particularly on limiting nuclear arsenals and establishing international guidelines for AI and biotechnology. Congress, they argued, should “repudiate President Trump’s war on renewable energy” and incentivize reductions in fossil fuel use. The group stressed that only through radical collaboration and the rebuilding of trust can humanity hope to turn back the clock.

The symbolic Doomsday Clock was first set at seven minutes to midnight in 1947, reflecting concerns about nuclear weapons in the wake of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Over the decades, the hands have moved in response to arms races, disarmament treaties, and, more recently, the growing specter of climate change and technological upheaval. The furthest from midnight it has ever been was 17 minutes, set in 1991 after the U.S. and Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty at the end of the Cold War. Now, with the clock at a mere 85 seconds to midnight, the Bulletin’s assessment is the bleakest in its history.

The metaphor of the clock has always been intended as a wake-up call rather than a prophecy. As Daniel Holz, professor at the University of Chicago and chair of the Bulletin, remarked, “Our greatest challenges require international trust and cooperation, and a world splintering into ‘us versus them’ will leave all of humanity more vulnerable.” The clock, he emphasized, is not a forecast but a warning—a plea for action before it truly is too late.

Antinuclear activists, including survivors of the atomic bombings in Japan, are paying close attention to the Bulletin’s warning. Their hope, and the hope of the Bulletin’s scientists, is that leaders and citizens alike will recognize the gravity of the moment and demand the changes necessary to pull humanity back from the brink. The clock’s hands may never move on their own, but the choices made today will determine whether midnight remains a metaphor—or becomes our reality.