Atomic scientists reset their infamous Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds before midnight.

Tuesday’s resetting to the same place it was last year remains the closest it has ever been to midnight, “reflecting the continued state of unprecedented danger the world faces,” the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said in a statement.


What You Need To Know

  • Atomic scientists reset the Doomsday Clock on Tuesday to 90 seconds before midnight

  • The clock remains in the same setting as last year but is not an indication the world is stable, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said

  • It is the closest the clock has been to midnight, which symbolically indicates the end of the world

  • Russia's war with Ukraine, the deterioration in nuclear arms reduction agreements, climate change and generative AI are among the reasons the scientists cited for the clock's position

They cited Russia’s war in Ukraine and the “deterioration of nuclear arms reduction agreements;” the climate crisis and 2023’s status as the hottest year on record; and the “dramatic advance of generative AI” and its ability to amplify disinformation as their reasons for setting the clock dangerously close to midnight, indicating the end of the world, according to the Doomsday Clock’s founders.

“Make no mistake: resetting the clock at 90 seconds to midnight is not an indication that the world is stable,” Bulletin president and CEO Rachel Bronson said in a statement. “Quite the opposite. It’s urgent for governments and communities around the world to act.”

She said the Bulletin remains hopeful, especially if more young people unite to combat the many existential threats to the planet. Because the likelihood of global catastrophe resulting from climate change, nuclear weapons, disruptive technologies and “widespread corruption of the world’s information ecosystem” are too much for any one nation or leader to control, the scientists are urging nations and their leaders to work together.

They are calling on the United States, Russia and China to begin serious conversations to “pull the world back from the brink of catastrophe” with “clarity and courage and without delay.”

This year’s resetting of the clock comes the same day the nuclear bomb feature, “Oppenheimer,” dominated the Oscar awards announcements.  J. Robert Oppenheimer helped found the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1945 with Albert Einstein and the University of Chicago scientists who developed the first atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project.

The group created the Doomsday Clock in 1947 and has reset it every year in consultation with nine Nobel laureates.

“For decades, scientists have been warning us of the dangers facing humankind,” Bill Nye, better known as “The Science Guy,” said during Tuesday’s announcement.  “We could be facing catastrophe unless we better manage the technologies we’ve created. It’s time to act.”