Doomsday Clock is now 89 seconds to midnight, inching closest ever to human extinction

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.

The Doomsday Clock’s time is set by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board (SASB) in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes nine Nobel Laureates.

Factors included nuclear weapons threats, the climate crisis, biological threats, and disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).

The Clock’s time changed most recently in January 2023, when the Doomsday Clock was set at 90 seconds to midnight.

Daniel Holz, PhD, SASB Chair, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and professor at the University of Chicago said: “The purpose of the Doomsday Clock is to start a global conversation about the very real existential threats that keep the world’s top scientists awake at night. National leaders must commence discussions about these global risks before it’s too late. Reflecting on these life-and-death issues and starting a dialogue are the first steps to turning back the Clock and moving away from midnight.”

In 2024, humanity edged ever closer to catastrophe.

Trends that have deeply concerned the Science and Security Board continued, and despite unmistakable signs of danger, national leaders and their societies have failed to do what is needed to change course.

Consequently, we now move the Doomsday Clock from 90 seconds to 89 seconds to midnight—the closest it has ever been to catastrophe.

Juan Manuel Santos, Chair of The Elders, former President of Colombia, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, who participated in the 2025 Doomsday Clock announcement, said: “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,”  Juan Manuel Santos said.

Robert Socolow, PhD, SASB Member, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and professor emeritus in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University, 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."