Doomsday clock ticks closer to world annihilation amid fears of nuclear war, AI arms race and another pandemic
Doomsday clock ticks closer to world annihilation amid fears of nuclear war, AI arms race and another pandemic
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Scientists have revealed that humanity is now one second closer to world annihilation. They unveiled the 2025 update for the Doomsday Clock on Tuesday, showing it now sits 89 seconds to midnight - one second closer than last year. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, which decides where the hands are set, cited the Russia-Ukraine war, ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, the threat of nuclear war, climate change, a looming bird flu pandemic and AI arms race.
![[An Israeli attack on al-Hudari family house reduces the building into rubble in Gaza City, Gaza on January 05, 2025]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/28/15/94550703-14333967-An_Israeli_attack_on_al_Hudari_family_house_reduces_the_building-a-1_1738079399316.jpg)
'This is the closest the world has ever been to midnight,' the experts said. In other words, the closest we have ever been to the catastrophic end of humanity. The Chicago-based nonprofit created the clock in 1947 during the Cold War tensions that followed World War Two to warn the public about how close humankind was to destroying the world.
![[Harrowing fires in California this month were related to climate change, according to scientists. Pictured, a home is engulfed in flames, Los Angeles, January 8, 2025]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/28/15/93903033-14333967-Harrowing_fires_in_California_this_month_were_related_to_climate-a-3_1738079399482.jpg)
'We set the clock closer to midnight because we do not see sufficient positive progress on the global challenges we face,' said Daniel Holz, board member and physicist at the University of Chicago. 'Setting the Doomsday Clock at 89 seconds to midnight is a warning to all world leaders,' he added.
![[President Donald Trump speaking in the White House's Roosevelt Room flanked by Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp; Larry Ellison, Executive Charmain Oracle and Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI on January 21, 2025, to announce $500B AI investment.]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/28/15/94599953-14333967-President_Donald_Trump_speaking_in_the_White_House_s_Roosevelt_R-a-2_1738079399433.jpg)
Since 2023, it has been set at 90 seconds to midnight, but this year scientists say it could move forward to reflect the troubling global outlook. Scientists unveiled the 2025 update for the 'Doomsday Clock' today, revealing that the clock moved one second closer to midnight in 2024.
![[In 2024, the hands did not move to reflect an unchanging global situation]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/28/14/94551133-14333967-In_2024_the_hands_did_not_move_to_reflect_an_unchanging_global_s-a-9_1738075818720.jpg)
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