The Doomsday Clock has been moved to its most perilous position yet, reflecting heightened global tensions fueled by the actions of Russia, China, and the United States, as well as deteriorating nuclear arms control agreements, ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and rising fears surrounding artificial intelligence.

On Tuesday, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists adjusted the clock to 85 seconds before midnight, symbolizing the brink of catastrophic global destruction. This marks a shift four seconds closer than its previous setting in 2025.

Originally established in 1947 by a Chicago-based nonprofit during the Cold War’s aftermath, the Doomsday Clock serves as a stark reminder of humanity’s proximity to self-destruction.

The scientists expressed deep concerns about the unregulated use of artificial intelligence in military applications, its potential to facilitate the creation of biological threats, and its role in proliferating disinformation worldwide. They also highlighted ongoing challenges posed by climate change.

“The Doomsday Clock reflects global risks, and what we’ve observed is a profound lack of leadership,” remarked Alexandra Bell, a nuclear policy expert and the Bulletin’s president and CEO.

“No matter the government, a shift towards neo-imperialism and an Orwellian approach to governance will only serve to push the clock toward midnight.”

It was the ‌third time in the past four years that the scientists moved the clock closer to midnight.

“In terms of nuclear risks, nothing in 2025 trended in the right direction,” Bell said.

“Longstanding diplomatic frameworks are under duress ‍or collapsing, the threat of explosive nuclear testing has returned, proliferation concerns are growing, and there were three military operations taking place under the shadow of nuclear weapons and the associated escalatory threat.

“The risk of nuclear use is unsustainably and unacceptably high.”

Conflicts in Ukraine, Middle East cited

Bell pointed to Russia’s continued war in Ukraine, the US and Israeli bombing of Iran and border clashes between India and Pakistan for the move.

Continuing tensions in Asia, including on the Korean Peninsula and China’s threats toward Taiwan, as well as rising tensions in the Western Hemisphere since US President Donald Trump returned to office 12 months ago, were also cited.

Trump in October ordered the US military to restart the process for testing nuclear weapons after a halt of more than three decades. No nuclear power, other than North Korea most recently in 2017, has conducted explosive nuclear testing in more than a quarter century.

No country would benefit ‍more from a full-scale return to such testing than China, given its continued push to expand its nuclear arsenal, according to Bell, a former senior official at the US state department.

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