Doomsday Clock Gets One Second Closer to Global Catastrophe
Have you been keeping an eye on the Doomsday Clock? Just this week, it advanced closer to midnight – 89 seconds, to be precise. This marks its closest approach to total destruction yet. When the clock strikes midnight, advocates believe a global catastrophe is imminent, making the name of the clock quite apt.
What Is the Doomsday Clock?
The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic representation of mankind’s approach to self-destruction due to forces like:
Nuclear weapons
Biothreats
Climate change
Disruptive technologies
It was instituted in 1946 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The advocacy group thought it was needed after World War II when the dangers of nuclear weapons and other technologies demonstrated mankind’s ability to wipe each other off the planet. When the clock strikes midnight, we will have hit the point of no return and the Earth will become uninhabitable.
Why Has the Time Changed?
For the last two years, the Bulletin kept the clock at 90 seconds to midnight due to four main concerns:
The war in Ukraine
The conflict in Gaza
The potential of a nuclear arms race
The climate crisis
The Bulletin’s Science and Security Board Chairman, Daniel Holz, said they advanced the clock closer to midnight because they are not seeing forward-moving progress on important issues like nuclear war, biological threats, climate change, and disruptive technologies. AI seems to be one of their primary concerns.
The Chairman also took aim at the spread of misinformation and disinformation, indicating that the development of ongoing conspiracy theories will only continue to corrode the communication ecosystem and blur the line between truth and lies.
Should We Believe the Doomsday Clock?
A professor in the Earth and Environmental Science Department at UPenn told CNN that the clock is an “imperfect metaphor.” In truth, it’s just a symbolic measurement of how close we are to self-destruction.
Although the clock was created after WWII, more specifically, it came into being after the Manhattan Project – the code name for the development of the atomic bomb. It started out with a focus on nuclear weapons and other devastating technologies. But, over time, new indicators such as new bioweapons, climate change, AI, and misinformation have entered the equation.
Rather than being an exact science, it’s really meant to spark conversation. With a morbid name like the “Doomsday Clock,” even the title alone is provocative.
Since the members of the Board at the Bulletin don’t believe they’re witnessing positive progress with regard to important global issues like nuclear war, climate change, bio threats, and certain advances in technology, they’ve moved the hand on the clock one second closer to total destruction.
What Happens When the Clock Strikes Midnight?
If we ever read a report that the clock has struck midnight, something catastrophic must have happened with regard to nuclear war or a devastating blow due to climate change. Basically, we may already be gone if it's struck midnight.
Let’s Keep an Eye On Things
In truth, people do pay attention to the Doomsday Clock as an illustration of society’s progression – or regression, one might say. It’s meant to keep people aware of how harmful certain developments and technologies are to mankind.
If it’s meant to spark conversation, it’s also meant to spark change. While we, as individuals, may feel helpless with regard to certain developments like nuclear war, we can take actionable steps with regard to other components such as climate change.
But, let’s keep an eye on things. The clock’s time is assessed annually and, in 2025, it’s been pushed closer to the End Times than ever before. Let’s hope that, throughout the year and under a new administration, we see the hands of time move in a more positive direction.