Doomsday Clock is about to be set for 2025 so we’ll know how close we are to death
Doomsday Clock is about to be set for 2025 so we’ll know how close we are to death
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It’s one of the most chilling indicators of mankind’s distance from disaster – and now scientists are preparing to reveal what time the Doomsday Clock will be set for 2025. Since its inception in 1947 by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, the Doomsday Clock has warned humanity how close the world is to catastrophe every year, with midnight acting as a symbol of the apocalypse.
![[Dr. Leonard Rieser, Chairman of the Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, moves the hand of the Doomsday Clock back to 17 minutes before midnight at offices near the University of Chicago on Nov. 26, 1991. (Carl Wagner/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SEI_187758049-4219.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
The idea was first introduced in the first magazine edition of the Bulletin which was published in June 1947. Since its inception, thousands across the globe have taken to extreme prepping for end-of-the-world events. The inspiration behind the Doomsday Clock was the growing threat of nuclear weapons following the Second World War, particularly with the growing tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States.
![[The clock with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is placed in a studio ahead of the announcement of the location of the minute hand on its Doomsday Clock, indicating what world developments mean for the perceived likelihood of nuclear catastrophe from the National Press Club in Washington, U.S., January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SEI_141555256-b4ff.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
The Doomsday Clock works by judging how near the minute hand is to midnight – simply put, the nearer it is, the closer the Earth is to disaster. The clock is set every year by the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes 10 Nobel laureates.
National security, climate change and nuclear danger are all factored into the decision of where the clock is placed. It currently stands at 90 seconds to midnight – the closest it has ever been. The past year has seen the world facing some huge challenges, with most of 2024 dominated by the Ukraine war, the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the largest election year on record and new leaders entering positions across the globe – including Donald Trump.
