Editing Doomsday Clock

{{short description|Symbol which represents the likelihood of a human-made global catastrophe}}
{{about|the symbol of global catastrophe|other uses|Doomsday Clock (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024|cs1-dates=l}}
{{Infobox recurring event
| name               = Doomsday Clock
| logo               = File:Doomsday clock (1.5 minutes).svg
| logo_size          = 120px
| logo_caption       = The Doomsday Clock pictured at its setting of "89 seconds to midnight", last changed in January 2025
| first              = {{start date|1947|06}}
| last               = January 28, 2025
| frequency          = Annually
| organized          = [[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]
| website            = {{Official URL}}
}}
The '''Doomsday Clock''' is a symbol that represents the estimated likelihood of a human-made [[Global catastrophic risk|global catastrophe]], in the opinion of the [[nonprofit organization]] ''[[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Science and Security Board |language=en-US |work=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |url=http://thebulletin.org/science-and-security-board |access-date=January 3, 2015 |archive-date=March 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316152503/http://thebulletin.org/science-and-security-board |url-status=live }}</ref> Maintained since 1947, the Clock is a [[metaphor]], not a prediction, for threats to humanity from unchecked scientific and technological advances. That is, the time on the Clock is not to be interpreted as actual time. A hypothetical global catastrophe is represented by midnight on the Clock, with the ''Bulletin''{{'}}s opinion on how close the world is to one represented by a certain number of minutes or seconds to midnight, which is then assessed in January of each year.  The main factors influencing the Clock are [[nuclear warfare]], [[climate change]], and [[artificial intelligence]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Morrison|first1=R. |date=January 23, 2024|title=Doomsday Clock is 90 seconds to midnight as experts warn “ai among the biggest threats” to humanity|website=Tom’s Guide|url=https://www.tomsguide.com/news/ai-a-threat-to-the-end-of-the-world-doomsday-clock-stays-at-90-seconds-to-midnight}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://thebulletin.org/how-many-hiroshimas-does-it-take-describe-climate-change|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929095819/https://thebulletin.org/how-many-hiroshimas-does-it-take-describe-climate-change/ |archive-date=September 29, 2013 |title=How Many Hiroshimas Does it Take to Describe Climate Change? |last=Stover |first=Dawn |date=September 26, 2013 |website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The ''Bulletin''{{'}}s Science and Security Board monitors new developments in the [[life sciences]] and technology that could inflict irrevocable harm to humanity.<ref name="2007PressRelease">{{cite news |title='Doomsday Clock' Moves Two Minutes Closer To Midnight |url=http://thebulletin.org/press-release/doomsday-clock-moves-two-minutes-closer-midnight |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826180458/https://thebulletin.org/press-release/doomsday-clock-moves-two-minutes-closer-midnight/ |archive-date=August 26, 2013 |work=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |access-date=April 6, 2015 |date=January 17, 2007}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The Clock's original setting in 1947 was 7 minutes to midnight. It has since been set backward 8 times and forward 18 times. The farthest time from midnight was 17 minutes in 1991, and the closest is 89 seconds, set in January 2025.<ref name="Lukiv2025"/>

The Clock was moved to 150 seconds (2&nbsp;minutes, 30&nbsp;seconds) in 2017, then forward to 2 minutes to midnight in 2018, and left unchanged in 2019.<ref name=bulletin2019>{{Cite web |url=https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time/ |title=Doomsday Clock 2019 Time |date=January 24, 2019 |website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124194613/https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time/ |archive-date=January 24, 2019 |access-date=January 24, 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{cbignore}}<!-- must access web page as of specified date --> It was moved forward to 100 seconds (1&nbsp;minute, 40&nbsp;seconds) in 2020,<ref name="james">{{cite web | last=James | first=Sara | title='If there's ever a time to wake up, it's now': Doomsday Clock moves 20-seconds closer to midnight | website=ABC News | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-24/doomsday-clock-moves-closest-to-midnight-in-73-year-history/11896294 | access-date=January 24, 2020 | date=January 24, 2020 | archive-date=January 24, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124004440/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-24/doomsday-clock-moves-closest-to-midnight-in-73-year-history/11896294 | url-status=live }}</ref> 90&nbsp;seconds (1&nbsp;minute,&nbsp;30 seconds) in 2023,<ref name="bulletin2023">{{Cite web |url=https://thebulletin.org/2023/01/press-release-doomsday-clock-set-at-90-seconds-to-midnight/ |title=Doomsday Clock set at 90 seconds to midnight |date=January 24, 2023|website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |access-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124152126/https://thebulletin.org/2023/01/press-release-doomsday-clock-set-at-90-seconds-to-midnight/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and 89 seconds (1&nbsp;minute,&nbsp;29 seconds) in 2025.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=2025 Doomsday Clock Statement |url=https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/2025-statement/ |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |language=en-US}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Bulletin Atomic Scientists Cover.jpg|thumb|Cover of the 1947 ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' issue, featuring the Doomsday Clock at "seven minutes to midnight"]]
The Doomsday Clock's origin can be traced to the international group of researchers called the Chicago Atomic Scientists, who had participated in the [[Manhattan Project]].<ref name="The Spokesman-Review">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=20061016&id=tGdWAAAAIBAJ&pg=5932,5424494|title=Doomsday Clock moving closer to midnight?|newspaper=[[The Spokesman-Review]]|date=October 16, 2006|access-date=February 28, 2021|archive-date=November 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127184452/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=20061016&id=tGdWAAAAIBAJ&pg=5932%2C5424494|url-status=live}}</ref> After the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]], they began publishing a [[mimeograph]]ed newsletter and then the magazine, ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'', which, since its inception, has depicted the Clock on every cover. The Clock was first represented in 1947, when the ''Bulletin'' co-founder Hyman Goldsmith asked artist [[Martyl Langsdorf]] (wife of Manhattan Project research associate and [[Szilárd petition]] signatory [[Alexander Langsdorf Jr.]]) to design a cover for the magazine's June 1947 issue. As [[Eugene Rabinowitch]], another co-founder of the ''Bulletin'', explained later:

{{quote|The ''Bulletin''{{'}}s Clock is not a gauge to register the ups and downs of the international power struggle; it is intended to reflect basic changes in the level of continuous danger in which mankind lives in the nuclear age...<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1893&dat=19840222&id=tbcfAAAAIBAJ&pg=2249,3820904|title=The Doomsday Clock|newspaper=[[Southeast Missourian]]|date=February 22, 1984|access-date=February 28, 2021|archive-date=July 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719020936/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1893&dat=19840222&id=tbcfAAAAIBAJ&pg=2249%2C3820904|url-status=live}}</ref>|sign=|source=}} Langsdorf chose a clock to reflect the urgency of the problem: like a countdown, the Clock suggests that destruction will naturally occur unless someone takes action to stop it.<ref>{{cite news|title=Running the 'Doomsday Clock' is a full-time job. Really.|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/26/world/doomsday-clock-scientists-trnd/index.html|access-date=January 29, 2018|publisher=CNN|date=January 26, 2018|archive-date=December 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203183529/https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/26/world/doomsday-clock-scientists-trnd/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2007, designer [[Michael Bierut]], who was on the ''Bulletin''{{'}}s Governing Board, redesigned the Doomsday Clock to give it a more modern feel. In 2009, the ''Bulletin'' ceased its print edition and became one of the first print publications in the U.S. to become entirely digital; the Clock is now found as part of the logo on the ''Bulletin''<nowiki/>'s website. Information about the Doomsday Clock Symposium,<ref name="Doomsday Clock Symposium">{{cite web|title=Doomsday Clock Symposium|url=http://thebulletin.org/press-release/2013-doomsday-clock-symposium|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722220038/http://thebulletin.org/press-release/2013-doomsday-clock-symposium/|archive-date=July 22, 2014|website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|access-date=September 10, 2013}}{{void|comment|Fabrickator|There is a live url on the "thebulletin.org" website, but it differs from the original}}</ref> a timeline of the Clock's settings,<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/timeline/|title=Timeline|date=January 2015|website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|access-date=February 9, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624132114/https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/|url-status=live}}</ref> and multimedia shows about the Clock's history and culture<ref>{{cite web|title=A Timeline of Conflict, Culture, and Change|url=http://thebulletin.org/multimedia/timeline-conflict-culture-and-change|website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|access-date=June 20, 2013|archive-date=October 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010022254/http://thebulletin.org/multimedia/timeline-conflict-culture-and-change|url-status=live}}</ref> can also be found on the ''Bulletin''{{'}}s website.

The 5th Doomsday Clock Symposium<ref name="Doomsday Clock Symposium" /> was held on November 14, 2013, in [[Washington, D.C.]]; it was a day-long event that was open to the public and featured panelists discussing various issues on the topic "Communicating Catastrophe". There was also an evening event at the [[Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden]] in conjunction with the Hirshhorn's current exhibit, "Damage Control: Art and Destruction Since 1950".<ref name="November 15, 2013">{{cite web|title=Damage Control: Art and Destruction Since 1950|url=http://www.hirshhorn.si.edu/collection/programs-calendar/#collection=damage-control|date=2013|website=[[Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden]]|access-date=November 15, 2013|archive-date=November 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104221329/http://www.hirshhorn.si.edu/collection/programs-calendar/#collection=damage-control|url-status=live}}</ref> The panel discussions, held at the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]], were streamed live from the ''Bulletin''{{'}}s website and can still be viewed there.<ref>{{cite web|title=5th Doomsday Clock Symposium|url=http://thebulletin.org/multimedia/2013-doomsday-clock-symposium|website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|access-date=September 14, 2013|archive-date=August 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803024636/http://thebulletin.org/multimedia/2013-doomsday-clock-symposium|url-status=live}}</ref> Reflecting international events dangerous to humankind, the Clock has been adjusted 25 times since its inception in 1947, when it was set to "seven minutes to midnight".<ref>{{cite news |date=January 10, 2012 |title=Doomsday Clock ticks closer to midnight |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/checkpoint-washington/post/doomsday-clock-ticks-closer-to-midnight/2012/01/10/gIQAXpKfoP_blog.html |access-date=January 10, 2012 |archive-date=December 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204230520/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/checkpoint-washington/post/doomsday-clock-ticks-closer-to-midnight/2012/01/10/gIQAXpKfoP_blog.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Doomsday Clock has become a universally recognized metaphor according to ''The Two-Way'', an NPR blog.<ref>{{cite news|title=Doomsday Clock Moves Closer To Midnight, We're 2 Minutes From World Annihilation|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/25/580670125/doomsday-clock-moves-closer-to-midnight-were-2-minutes-from-world-annihilation|access-date=January 29, 2018|work=The Two-Way|publisher=[[NPR]]|date=January 25, 2018|archive-date=December 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209060424/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/25/580670125/doomsday-clock-moves-closer-to-midnight-were-2-minutes-from-world-annihilation|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the ''Bulletin'', the Clock attracts more daily visitors to the ''Bulletin''<nowiki/>'s site than any other feature.<ref name="slate">{{cite news|last1=Barasch|first1=Alex|title=What The Doomsday Clock Doesn't Tell Us|url=https://slate.com/technology/2018/01/what-the-doomsday-clock-doesnt-tell-us.html|access-date=January 29, 2018|work=Slate Magazine|date=January 26, 2018|archive-date=March 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308200823/https://slate.com/technology/2018/01/what-the-doomsday-clock-doesnt-tell-us.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Basis for settings==
"Midnight" has a deeper meaning besides the constant threat of war. There are various elements taken into consideration when the scientists from the ''Bulletin'' decide what Midnight and "global catastrophe" really mean in a particular year. They might include "politics, energy, weapons, diplomacy, and climate science";<ref name="NPR.org">{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/26/511592700/the-doomsday-clock-is-now-30-seconds-closer-to-midnight|title=The Doomsday Clock Is Reset: Closest To Midnight Since The 1950s|work=NPR.org|access-date=April 18, 2017|archive-date=November 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127221534/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/26/511592700/the-doomsday-clock-is-now-30-seconds-closer-to-midnight|url-status=live}}</ref> potential sources of threat include [[nuclear threat]]s, climate change, [[bioterrorism]], and artificial intelligence.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Reynolds|first1=Emily|title=What is the Doomsday Clock and why does it matter?|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/what-is-the-doomsday-clock|access-date=January 29, 2018|date=January 25, 2018|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|archive-date=December 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203183526/https://www.wired.co.uk/article/what-is-the-doomsday-clock|url-status=live}}</ref> Members of the board judge Midnight by discussing how close they think humanity is to the end of civilization. In 1947, at the [[Cold War (1947–1953)|beginning of the Cold War]], the Clock was started at seven minutes to midnight.<ref name=":0"/>

== Fluctuations and threats ==
Before January 2020, the two tied-for-lowest points for the Doomsday Clock were in 1953 (when the Clock was set to two minutes until midnight, after the U.S. and the [[Soviet Union]] began testing [[hydrogen bombs]]) and in 2018, following the failure of world leaders to address tensions relating to nuclear weapons and climate change issues. In other years, the Clock's time has fluctuated from 17 minutes in 1991 to 2&nbsp;minutes 30&nbsp;seconds in 2017.<ref name=":0"/><ref name="Closer"/> Discussing the change in 2017, [[Lawrence Krauss]], one of the scientists from the ''Bulletin'', warned that political leaders must make decisions based on facts, and those facts "must be taken into account if the future of humanity is to be preserved".<ref name="NPR.org"/> In an announcement from the ''Bulletin'' about the status of the Clock, they went as far to call for action from "wise" public officials and "wise" citizens to make an attempt to steer human life away from catastrophe while humans still can.<ref name=":0"/>

On January 24, 2018, scientists moved the clock to two minutes to midnight, based on threats greatest in the nuclear realm. The scientists said, of recent moves by [[North Korea]] under [[Kim Jong-un]] and the administration of [[Donald Trump]] in the U.S.: "Hyperbolic rhetoric and provocative actions by both sides have increased the possibility of nuclear war by accident or miscalculation".<ref name="Closer">{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/25/politics/doomsday-clock-closer-nuclear-midnight/index.html|title='Doomsday clock' ticks closer to apocalyptic midnight|last=Koran|first=Laura|work=[[CNN]]|date=January 25, 2018|access-date=January 25, 2018|archive-date=November 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103111015/https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/25/politics/doomsday-clock-closer-nuclear-midnight/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The clock was left unchanged in 2019 due to the twin threats of nuclear weapons and climate change, and the problem of those threats being "exacerbated this past year by the increased use of information warfare to undermine democracy around the world, amplifying risk from these and other threats and putting the future of civilization in extraordinary danger".<ref name= "bulletin2019"/>

On January 23, 2020, the Clock was moved to 100 seconds (1 minute, 40 seconds) before midnight. The ''Bulletin''{{'}}s executive chairman, [[Jerry Brown]], said "the dangerous rivalry and hostility among the superpowers increases the likelihood of nuclear blunder... Climate change just compounds the crisis".<ref name="james"/> The "100 seconds to midnight" setting remained unchanged in 2021 and 2022.

On January 24, 2023, the Clock was moved to 90 seconds (1 minute, 30 seconds) before midnight, which was largely attributed to the [[Nuclear risk during the Russian invasion of Ukraine|risk of nuclear escalation]] that arose from the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]]. Other reasons cited included climate change, biological threats such as [[COVID-19]], and risks associated with disinformation and [[disruptive technologies]].<ref name="bulletin2023" /> 

On January 28, 2025, the Clock was moved to 89 seconds (1 minute, 29 seconds) before midnight, the closest it has ever been set to midnight since its inception in 1947.<ref name="Lukiv2025">{{cite news |last=Lukiv |first=Jaroslav |date=January 28, 2025 |title=Doomsday Clock moved closest ever to destruction |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgmkdz0297o.amp |publisher=[[BBC News]] |access-date=January 28, 2025}}</ref>

== Criticism ==
In 2016, [[Anders Sandberg]] of the [[Future of Humanity Institute]] has stated that the "grab bag of threats" currently mixed together by the Clock can induce paralysis.<ref>{{cite news|title=Is the Doomsday Clock Still Relevant?|url=https://www.livescience.com/53801-doomsday-clock-relevance.html|access-date=January 29, 2018|work=[[Live Science]]|date=February 24, 2016|archive-date=November 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102194713/https://www.livescience.com/53801-doomsday-clock-relevance.html|url-status=live}}</ref> People may be more likely to succeed at smaller, incremental challenges; for example, taking steps to prevent the accidental detonation of nuclear weapons was a small but significant step towards avoiding nuclear war.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|last1=Chan|first1=Sewell|author1-link=Sewell Chan|title=Doomsday Clock Is Set at 2 Minutes to Midnight, Closest Since 1950s|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/world/americas/doomsday-clock-nuclear-scientists.html|access-date=January 29, 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=2018|archive-date=January 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104070343/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/world/americas/doomsday-clock-nuclear-scientists.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Alex Barasch in ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' argued that "putting humanity on a permanent, blanket high-alert isn't helpful when it comes to policy or science" and criticized the ''Bulletin'' for neither explaining nor attempting to quantify their methodology.<ref name="slate"/>

[[Cognitive psychology|Cognitive psychologist]] [[Steven Pinker]] harshly criticized the Doomsday Clock as a political stunt, pointing to the words of its founder that its purpose was "to preserve civilization by scaring men into rationality". He stated that it is inconsistent and not based on any [[objectivity (science)|objective]] indicators of security, using as an example its being farther from midnight in 1962 during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] than in the "far calmer 2007". He argued it was another example of humanity's tendency toward historical pessimism, and compared it to other predictions of self-destruction that went unfulfilled.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pinker |first1= Steven |author1-link=Steven Pinker |title= Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress |date=2019 |publisher=Penguin |isbn= 978-0-14-311138-2 |pages= 308–11 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=R5KADwAAQBAJ}}</ref>

Conservative media outlets have often criticized the ''Bulletin'' and the Doomsday Clock. Keith Payne wrote 2010 in the ''[[National Review]]'' that the Clock overestimated the effects of "developments in the areas of nuclear testing and formal arms control".<ref>{{cite news|title=Precision Prediction|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/228975/precision-prediction-keith-b-payne|access-date=January 29, 2018|work=[[National Review]]|date=January 18, 2010|archive-date=January 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125081901/https://www.nationalreview.com/2010/01/precision-prediction-keith-b-payne/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, Tristin Hopper in the ''[[National Post]]'' acknowledged that "there are plenty of things to worry about regarding climate change", but states that climate change is not in the same league as total nuclear destruction.<ref name="national post">{{cite news|title=Why the Doomsday Clock is an idiotic indicator the world's media should ignore|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/world/why-the-doomsday-clock-is-an-idiotic-indicator-the-worlds-media-should-ignore|access-date=January 29, 2018|work=[[National Post]]|date=January 25, 2018|archive-date=June 2, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602125828/https://nationalpost.com/news/world/why-the-doomsday-clock-is-an-idiotic-indicator-the-worlds-media-should-ignore|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, some critics accuse the ''Bulletin'' of pushing a political agenda.<ref name= "nyt"/><ref name="national post"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Doomsday Clock moves closer to midnight|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doomsday-clock-destroying-civilization-scientists-president-trump/|work=CBS News|access-date=January 29, 2018|date=January 26, 2017|archive-date=December 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203183528/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doomsday-clock-destroying-civilization-scientists-president-trump/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.investors.com/politics/commentary/the-doomsday-clock-measures-liberal-angst-not-global-risk/|title=The Famed 'Doomsday Clock' Is Little More Than A Liberal Angst Meter|newspaper=[[Investor's Business Daily]]|date=January 25, 2019|access-date=September 26, 2020|archive-date=December 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229131818/https://www.investors.com/politics/commentary/the-doomsday-clock-measures-liberal-angst-not-global-risk/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Timeline==
[[File:Doomsday Clock graph.svg|thumb|768px|left|'''Doomsday Clock graph, 1947–2023'''. The lower points on the graph represent a higher probability of technologically or environmentally-induced catastrophe, and the higher points represent a lower probability, in the opinion of the ''Bulletin''.]]

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; clear:left"
|+ Timeline of the Doomsday Clock<ref name=":0" />
! width="5%" | Year
! width="5%" | {{nowrap|Minutes to}} midnight
! width="5%" | Time ([[24-hour clock|24-h]])
! width="5%" data-sort-type=number | Change (minutes)
! class="unsortable" | Reason
! class="unsortable" | Clock
|-
| 1947
| 7
| 23:53
| 0
| align="left" | The initial setting of the Doomsday Clock.
| [[File:Doomsday clock (7 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1949
| 3
| 23:57
| style="color:firebrick" | −4
| align="left" | The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb, the [[RDS-1]], starting the [[nuclear arms race]].
| [[File:Doomsday clock (3 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1953
| 2
| 23:58
| style="color:firebrick" | −1
| align="left" | The United States [[Ivy Mike|tests]] its first [[thermonuclear device]] in November 1952 as part of [[Operation Ivy]], before the Soviet Union follows suit with the [[Joe 4]] test in August. This remained the clock's closest approach to midnight (tied in 2018) until 2020.
| [[File:Doomsday clock (2 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1960
| 7
| 23:53
| style="color:green" | +5
| align="left" | In response to a perception of increased scientific cooperation and public understanding of the dangers of nuclear weapons (as well as political actions taken to avoid "[[massive retaliation]]"), the United States and Soviet Union cooperate and avoid direct confrontation in regional conflicts such as the 1956 [[Suez Crisis]], the 1958 [[Second Taiwan Strait Crisis]], and the [[1958 Lebanon crisis]]. Scientists from various countries help establish the [[International Geophysical Year]], a series of coordinated, worldwide scientific observations between nations allied with both the United States and the Soviet Union, and the [[Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs]], which allow Soviet and American scientists to interact.
| [[File:Doomsday clock (7 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1963
| 12
| 23:48
| style="color:green" | +5
| align="left" | The United States and the Soviet Union sign the [[Partial Test Ban Treaty]], limiting atmospheric nuclear testing.
| [[File:Doomsday clock (12 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1968
| 7
| 23:53
| style="color:firebrick" | −5
| align="left" | The [[Role of the United States in the Vietnam War|involvement of the United States]] in the [[Vietnam War]] intensifies, the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]] takes place, and the [[Six-Day War]] occurs in 1967. France and China, two nations which have not signed the Partial Test Ban Treaty, acquire and test nuclear weapons (the 1960 ''[[Gerboise Bleue]]'' and the 1964 [[596 (nuclear test)|596]], respectively) to assert themselves as global players in the nuclear arms race.
| [[File:Doomsday clock (7 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1969
| 10
| 23:50
| style="color:green" | +3
| align="left" | Every nation in the world, with the notable exceptions of India, Israel, and Pakistan, signs the [[Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]].
| [[File:Doomsday clock (10 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1972
| 12
| 23:48
| style="color:green" | +2
| align="left" | The United States and the Soviet Union sign the [[Strategic Arms Limitation Talks#SALT I Treaty|first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty]] (SALT I) and the [[Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty|Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty]].
| [[File:Doomsday clock (12 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1974
| 9
| 23:51
| style="color:firebrick" | −3
| align="left" | India tests a nuclear device ([[Smiling Buddha]]), and [[SALT II]] talks stall. Both the United States and the Soviet Union modernize [[multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle]]s (MIRVs).
| [[File:Doomsday clock (9 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1980
| 7
| 23:53
| style="color:firebrick" | −2
| align="left" | Unforeseeable end to deadlock in American–Soviet talks as the [[Soviet–Afghan War]] begins. As a result of the war, the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] refuses to ratify the SALT II agreement.
| [[File:Doomsday clock (7 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1981
| 4
| 23:56
| style="color:firebrick" | −3
| align="left" |  The Soviet war in Afghanistan toughens the U.S.{{'}} nuclear posture. [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Jimmy Carter]] [[1980 Summer Olympics boycott|withdraws the United States]] from the [[1980 Summer Olympics|1980 Summer Olympic Games]] in Moscow. The Carter administration considers ways in which the United States could win a nuclear war. [[Ronald Reagan]] [[First inauguration of Ronald Reagan|becomes President of the United States]], scraps further arms reduction talks with the Soviet Union, and argues that the only way to end the [[Cold War]] is to win it. Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union contribute to the danger of nuclear annihilation as they each deploy [[Intermediate-range ballistic missile|intermediate-range missiles]] in Europe. The adjustment also accounts for the [[Iran hostage crisis]], the [[Iran–Iraq War]], China's atmospheric nuclear warhead test, the [[Martial law in Poland|declaration of martial law in Poland]], [[apartheid]] in [[South Africa]], and [[human rights]] abuses across the world.<ref name="The Daily News" /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Feld |first=Bernard T. |author-link=Bernard T. Feld |date=January 1981 |title=The hands move closer to midnight |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00963402.1981.11458799 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=1 |doi=10.1080/00963402.1981.11458799 |bibcode=1981BuAtS..37a...1F |issn=0096-3402|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
| [[File:Doomsday clock (4 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1984
| 3
| 23:57
| style="color:firebrick" | −1
| align="left" | Further escalation of the tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, with the ongoing Soviet–Afghan War intensifying the Cold War. U.S. [[Pershing II]] [[medium-range ballistic missile]] and [[BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile|cruise missiles]] are deployed in Western Europe.<ref name="The Daily News">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1696&dat=19831221&id=_vgaAAAAIBAJ&pg=5121,4779473 |title=Doomsday Clock at 3'til midnight |newspaper=[[The Daily News (Kentucky)|The Daily News]] |date=December 21, 1983 |access-date=February 28, 2021 |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125185031/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1696&dat=19831221&id=_vgaAAAAIBAJ&pg=5121,4779473 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ronald Reagan pushes to win the Cold War by intensifying the arms race between the superpowers. The Soviet Union and its allies (except Romania) [[1984 Summer Olympics boycott|boycott]] the [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Olympic Games]] in Los Angeles, as a response to the U.S.-led boycott in 1980.
| [[File:Doomsday clock (3 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1988
| 6
| 23:54
| style="color:green" | +3
| align="left" | In December 1987, the United States and the Soviet Union sign the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty]], to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles, and their relations improve.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19871217&id=tNMxAAAAIBAJ&pg=5371,1764595 |title=Hands of the 'Doomsday Clock' turned back three minutes |newspaper=[[Reading Eagle]] |date=December 17, 1987 |access-date=February 28, 2021 |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125185031/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19871217&id=tNMxAAAAIBAJ&pg=5371,1764595 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| [[File:Doomsday clock (6 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1990
| 10
| 23:50
| style="color:green" | +4
| align="left" | The [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] and the [[Iron Curtain]], along with the [[German reunification|reunification of Germany]], mean that the Cold War is nearing its end.
| [[File:Doomsday clock (10 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1991
| 17
| 23:43
| style="color:green" | +7
| align="left" | The United States and Soviet Union sign the [[START I|first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty]] (START I), the US announces the removal of many tactical nuclear weapons in September 1991, and the Soviet Union takes similar steps, as well as announcing the complete cessation of all nuclear testing in October 1991. The ''Bulletin'' editorial, published November 26, 1991, announces that "the 40-year-long East-West nuclear arms race is over."<ref name="Bulletin-1991">{{cite journal |last1=Editorial Board |editor1-last=Moore |editor1-first=Mike |title=A New Era (Editorial) |journal=The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |date=1991-11-26 |volume=47 |issue=10 (December 1991) |page=3 |doi=10.1080/00963402.1991.11460045 }}</ref> One month after the ''Bulletin'' made this clock adjustment, the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union|Soviet Union dissolves]] on December 26, 1991. This is the farthest from midnight the Clock has been since its inception.
| [[File:Doomsday clock (17 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1995
| 14
| 23:46
| style="color:firebrick" | −3
| align="left" | Global military spending continues at Cold War levels amid concerns about post-Soviet nuclear proliferation of weapons and brainpower.
| [[File:Doomsday clock (14 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 1998
| 9
| 23:51
| style="color:firebrick" | −5
| align="left" | Both India ([[Pokhran-II]]) and Pakistan ([[Chagai-I]]) test nuclear weapons in a tit-for-tat show of aggression; the United States and Russia run into difficulties in further reducing stockpiles.
| [[File:Doomsday clock (9 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 2002
| 7
| 23:53
| style="color:firebrick" | −2
| align="left" | Little progress on global nuclear disarmament. United States rejects a series of arms control treaties and announces its intentions to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, amid concerns about the possibility of a nuclear terrorist attack due to the amount of weapon-grade nuclear materials that are unsecured and unaccounted for worldwide.
| [[File:Doomsday clock (7 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 2007
| 5
| 23:55
| style="color:firebrick" | −2
| align="left" | North Korea [[2006 North Korean nuclear test|tests a nuclear weapon in October 2006]],<ref>{{cite news |title=The North Korean nuclear test |work=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |year=2009 |url=http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/special-topics/the-north-korean-nuclear-test |access-date=August 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627235938/http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/special-topics/the-north-korean-nuclear-test |archive-date=June 27, 2009}}</ref> Iran's [[Nuclear program of Iran|nuclear ambitions]], a renewed American emphasis on the military utility of nuclear weapons, the failure to adequately secure nuclear materials, and the continued presence of some 26,000 nuclear weapons in the United States and Russia.<ref name="2007PressRelease" /> After assessing the dangers posed to civilization, climate change was added to the prospect of nuclear annihilation as the greatest threats to humanity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16670686|title=Nukes, climate push 'Doomsday Clock' forward|date=January 15, 2012|access-date=January 15, 2012|work=NBC News|archive-date=January 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125185041/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/16670686|url-status=live}}</ref>
| [[File:Doomsday clock (5 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 2010
| 6
| 23:54
| style="color:green" | +1
| align="left" | Worldwide cooperation to reduce nuclear arsenals and limit effect of climate change.<ref name=":0" /> The [[New START]] agreement is ratified by both the United States and Russia, and more negotiations for further reductions in the American and Russian nuclear arsenal are already planned. The [[2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference]] in Copenhagen results in the developing and industrialized countries agreeing to take responsibility for carbon emissions and to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius.
| [[File:Doomsday clock (6 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 2012
| 5
| 23:55
| style="color:firebrick" | −1
| align="left" | Lack of global [[action on climate change|political action to address global climate change]], nuclear weapons stockpiles, the potential for regional nuclear conflict, and nuclear power safety.<ref name="2012PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.thebulletin.org/press-release/doomsday-clock-remains-five-minutes-midnight |website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |access-date=June 29, 2013 |title=Doomsday Clock moves to five minutes to midnight |date=January 14, 2013 |archive-date=July 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709021242/http://www.thebulletin.org/press-release/doomsday-clock-remains-five-minutes-midnight |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| [[File:Doomsday clock (5 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 2015
| 3
| 23:57
| style="color:firebrick" | −2
| align="left" | Concerns amid continued lack of global political action to address global climate change, the modernization of nuclear weapons in the United States and Russia, and the problem of nuclear waste.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Casey|first1=Michael|title=Doomsday Clock moves two minutes closer to midnight|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/doomsday-clock-moves-two-minutes-closer-to-midnight/|access-date=January 23, 2015|work=CBS News|date=January 22, 2015|archive-date=January 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122193144/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/doomsday-clock-moves-two-minutes-closer-to-midnight/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| [[File:Doomsday clock (3 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 2017
| data-sort-value="2.5" |{{frac|2|1|2}}
| 23:57:30
| style="color:firebrick" data-sort-value="-0.5" | −{{frac|1|2}}<br/>(−30 s)
| align="left" | United States President Donald Trump's comments over nuclear weapons, the threat of a renewed arms race between the U.S. and Russia, and the [[climate change denial|expressed disbelief in the scientific consensus over climate change]] by the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]].<ref name="It is two and a half minutes to midnight">{{cite web|author1=Science and Security Board Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|title=It is two and a half minutes to midnight|date=August 9, 2011|url=http://thebulletin.org/sites/default/files/Final%202017%20Clock%20Statement.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126162831/http://thebulletin.org/sites/default/files/Final%202017%20Clock%20Statement.pdf |archive-date=January 26, 2017 |url-status=dead|publisher=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|access-date=January 26, 2017}}</ref><ref name="2017 move">{{cite press release|title=Board moves the clock ahead|url=http://thebulletin.org/press-release/board-moves-clock-ahead10433|website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|access-date=January 26, 2017|language=en|date=January 26, 2017|archive-date=January 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126160825/http://thebulletin.org/press-release/board-moves-clock-ahead10433|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Holley|first1=Peter|last2=Ohlheiser|first2=Abby|last3=Wang|first3=Amy B|title=The Doomsday Clock just advanced, 'thanks to Trump': It's now just {{citefrac|2|1|2}} minutes to 'midnight.'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/01/26/the-doomsday-clock-just-moved-again-its-now-two-and-a-half-minutes-to-midnight/|access-date=January 26, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-date=June 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630124906/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/01/26/the-doomsday-clock-just-moved-again-its-now-two-and-a-half-minutes-to-midnight/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Bromwich|first1=Jonah Engel|title=Doomsday Clock Moves Closer to Midnight, Signaling Concern Among Scientists|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/science/doomsday-clock-countdown-2017.html?|access-date=January 26, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 26, 2017|archive-date=January 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126225556/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/science/doomsday-clock-countdown-2017.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NPR.org"/>
| [[File:Doomsday clock (2.5 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 2018
| 2
| 23:58
| style="color:firebrick" data-sort-value="-0.5" | −{{frac|1|2}}<br/>(−30 s)
| align="left" | Failure of world leaders to deal with looming threats of nuclear war and climate change. This is the clock's third closest approach to midnight, matching that of 1953.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2018/01/25/after-a-missile-scare-and-insult-war-with-north-korea-its-time-to-check-the-doomsday-clock/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180125153839/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2018/01/25/after-a-missile-scare-and-insult-war-with-north-korea-its-time-to-check-the-doomsday-clock/ |archive-date=January 25, 2018 |title=The Doomsday Clock is now just 2 minutes to 'midnight,' the symbolic hour of the apocalypse |first1=Lindsey |last1=Bever |first2=Sarah |last2=Kaplan |first3=Abby |last3=Ohlheiser |date=January 25, 2018 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=January 15, 2022}}</ref>{{cbignore}} In 2019, the ''Bulletin'' reaffirmed the "two minutes to midnight" time, citing continuing climate change and Trump administration's abandonment of U.S. efforts to lead the world toward [[decarbonization]]; U.S. withdrawal from the [[Paris Agreement]], the [[Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action]], and the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty]]; U.S. and Russian nuclear modernization efforts; [[information warfare]] threats and other dangers from "disruptive technologies" such as [[synthetic biology]], artificial intelligence, and [[cyberwarfare]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time/ |title=A new abnormal: It is still 2 minutes to midnight |first1=John |last1= Mecklin|date=January 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124194613/https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time/ |work=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |archive-date=January 24, 2019 |access-date=January 24, 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{cbignore}}<!-- must access web page as of specified date -->
| [[File:Doomsday clock (2 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 2020
| data-sort-value="1.67" | {{frac|1|2|3}}<br/>(100 s)
| 23:58:20
| style="color:firebrick" data-sort-value="-0.33" | −{{frac|1|3}}<br/>(−20 s)
| align="left" | Failure of world leaders to deal with the increased threats of nuclear war, such as the end of the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty]] (INF) between the United States and Russia as well as increased tensions between the U.S. and [[Iran]], along with the continued neglect of climate change. Announced in units of seconds, instead of minutes; this was the clock's closest approach to midnight, exceeding that of 1953 and 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=Doomsday clock: Humanity closer to annihilation than ever before, scientists say; Clock is now set to 100 seconds to midnight, experts announce |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/doomsday-clock-2020-coronavirus-midnight-time-nuclear-war-ai-climate-a9298926.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123164218/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/doomsday-clock-2020-coronavirus-midnight-time-nuclear-war-ai-climate-a9298926.html |archive-date=January 23, 2020 |last=Griffin |first=Andrew |website=[[The Independent]] |access-date=January 15, 2022 |language=en |date=January 23, 2020}}</ref>{{cbignore}} The ''Bulletin'' concluded by stating that the current issues causing the adjustment are "the most dangerous situation that humanity has ever faced". In the annual statements for 2021 and 2022, issued in January of each year, the ''Bulletin'' left the "100 seconds to midnight" time setting unchanged.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Current Time|url=https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time/|access-date=December 7, 2020|website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|language=en-US|archive-date=July 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731004740/https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2021 Doomsday Clock Statement |url=https://thebulletin.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2021-doomsday-clock-statement.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127152335/https://thebulletin.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2021-doomsday-clock-statement.pdf |archive-date=January 27, 2021 |url-status=live |website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |access-date=March 9, 2022 |date=January 27, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2022 Doomsday Clock Statement |url=https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time/ |website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |access-date=March 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120154742/https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time/ |archive-date=January 20, 2022 |date=January 20, 2022 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| [[File:Doomsday clock (1.67 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 2023
| data-sort-value="1.5" | {{frac|1|1|2}}<br/>(90 s)
| 23:58:30
| style="color:firebrick" data-sort-value="-0.17" | −{{frac|1|6}}<br/>(−10 s)
| align="left" | Due largely–but not exclusively–to the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] and the increased risk of [[nuclear escalation]] stemming from the conflict. Russia suspended its participation in the last remaining nuclear weapons treaty between it and the United States, [[New START]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sanger |first=David E. |date=February 21, 2023 |title=Putin's Move on Nuclear Treaty May Signal End to Formal Arms Control |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/21/world/europe/putin-new-start-treaty.html |access-date=February 22, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605082021/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/21/world/europe/putin-new-start-treaty.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Russia also brought its war to the [[Capture of Chernobyl|Chernobyl]] and [[Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant crisis|Zaporizhzhia]] nuclear reactor sites, violating international protocols and risking widespread release of radioactive materials. North Korea resumed its nuclear rhetoric, launching an intermediate-range ballistic missile test over Japan in October 2022. Continuing threats posed by the climate crisis and the breakdown of global norms and institutions set up to mitigate risks associated with advancing technologies and biological threats such as COVID-19 also contributed to the time setting.<ref name="bulletin2023"/> This setting remained unchanged the following year.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Doomsday Clock remains at 90 seconds to midnight|url=https://thebulletin.org/2024/01/press-release-doomsday-clock-remains-at-90-seconds-to-midnight/ |website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |first=Sarah|last=Starkey|access-date=January 23, 2024 |date=January 23, 2024}}</ref>
| [[File:Doomsday clock (1.5 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|-
| 2025
| data-sort-value="1.49" | {{frac|1|29|60}}<br/>(89 s)
| 23:58:31
| style="color:firebrick" data-sort-value="-0.17" | −{{frac|1|60}}<br/>(−1 s)
| align="left" | The continuing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the [[Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)|Middle Eastern crisis]], increased [[nuclear proliferation]], effects of climate change, biological threats, and advancing technologies. This is the closest to midnight the Clock has been since its inception.
| [[File:Doomsday clock (1.5 minutes).svg|88x88px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|}

== In popular culture ==
{{Redirect|Minutes to Midnight}}
* "[[Seven Minutes to Midnight (song)|Seven Minutes to Midnight]]", a 1980 single by [[Pete Wylie|Wah! Heat]], refers to that year's change of the Doomsday Clock from nine to seven minutes to midnight.
* Australian rock band [[Midnight Oil]]'s 1984 LP ''[[Red Sails in the Sunset (album)|Red Sails in the Sunset]]'' features a song called "[[Minutes to Midnight (song)|Minutes to Midnight]]", and the album's cover shows an aerial-view rendering of [[Sydney]] after a nuclear strike.
* The title of [[Iron Maiden]]'s 1984 song "[[2 Minutes to Midnight]]" is a reference to the Doomsday Clock.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Bowen |first=LB |date=January 24, 2017 |title=Doomsday Clock: Iron Maiden – Two Minutes to Midnight|url=https://onstagemagazine.com/iron-maiden-doomsday-clock|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115221951/https://onstagemagazine.com/iron-maiden-doomsday-clock/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 15, 2018|magazine=OnStage Magazine|access-date=February 11, 2017}}</ref><ref name="aux av">{{cite news|last1=Ihnat|first1=Gwen|title=The people behind the Doomsday Clock explain why we're so close to midnight|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-people-behind-the-doomsday-clock-explain-why-we-re-1798258266|access-date=January 29, 2018|work=AUX ([[The A.V. Club]])|date=February 23, 2017|archive-date=January 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129141323/https://aux.avclub.com/the-people-behind-the-doomsday-clock-explain-why-we-re-1798258266|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The Doomsday Clock appears in the beginning of the 1985 music video for "[[Russians (song)|Russians]]" by [[Sting (musician)|Sting]].
* The 1986 short story "[[The End of the Whole Mess]]" by [[Stephen King]] refers to the Doomsday Clock being set at fifteen seconds before midnight due to elevated geopolitical tension.<ref>{{cite book |last=King |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen King |date=1993 |title=[[Nightmares & Dreamscapes]] |location=New York |publisher=Scribner |page=97 |isbn=978-1-5011-9203-6 |quote=The saber-rattling had become a din. On the last day of the old year the Scientists for Nuclear Responsibility had set their black clock to fifteen seconds before midnight.}}</ref>
* The Doomsday Clock was a recurring visual theme in [[Alan Moore]] and [[Dave Gibbons]]'s seminal ''[[Watchmen]]'' graphic novel series (1986–87), its [[Watchmen (2009 film)|2009 film adaptation]], and its [[Watchmen (TV series)|2019 television miniseries sequel]].<ref name="aux av"/> Additionally [[Doomsday Clock (comics)|its sequel series]], which takes place in the main [[DC Universe]], borrows the title.
* The title of [[Linkin Park]]'s 2007 album ''[[Minutes to Midnight (Linkin Park album)|Minutes to Midnight]]'' is a reference to the Doomsday Clock.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bmi.com/news/entry/linkin_park_makes_minutes_to_midnight_count |title=Linkin Park Makes 'Minutes to Midnight' Count |last=Rodriguez |first=Dana |date=May 25, 2007 |work=BMI.com |access-date=June 5, 2017 |language=en |archive-date=August 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804113029/https://www.bmi.com/news/entry/linkin_park_makes_minutes_to_midnight_count |url-status=live }}</ref> Their music video for "[[Shadow of the Day]]" from Minutes to Midnight, represents the Doomsday Clock as an actual clock with it reaching midnight at the end of the video.
* In the [[Flobots]]' song "[[The Circle in the Square]]", the lyrics say "the clock is now 11:55 on the big hand", which was the Doomsday Clock's setting in 2012 when the song was released.<ref>{{Citation |title=Flobots – The Circle in the Square |url=https://genius.com/Flobots-the-circle-in-the-square-lyrics |language=en |access-date=December 9, 2019 |archive-date=December 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209053059/https://genius.com/Flobots-the-circle-in-the-square-lyrics |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The title of the 1982 ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "[[Four to Doomsday]]" references the Doomsday Clock. In the 2017 episode "[[The Pyramid at the End of the World]]", the Monks changed every clock in the world to three minutes to midnight as a warning about what will happen if humanity does not accept their help. Representatives of the three most powerful armies on Earth agreed not to fight each other, believing a potential war is the catastrophe. However, the clock remained displaying two minutes to midnight. After the Doctor averted the true catastrophe – an [[Biotechnology risk|accidental bacteriological disaster]] –, the clock began moving backwards.<ref name="bbc fact">{{cite web | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4NRq50lCNJd82TLRjNxYjHT/the-pyramid-at-the-end-of-the-world-the-fact-file | title = The Pyramid at the End of the World: The Fact File | access-date = May 27, 2017 | work = [[BBC]] | archive-date = May 29, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170529140659/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4NRq50lCNJd82TLRjNxYjHT/the-pyramid-at-the-end-of-the-world-the-fact-file | url-status = live }}</ref> 
* The Doomsday Clock is featured in [[Yael Bartana]]'s ''What if Women Ruled the World'', which premiered on July{{nbsp}}5, 2017 at the [[Manchester International Festival]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/jul/10/what-if-women-ruled-the-world-review-yael-bartana-manchester-international-festival |title=What If Women Ruled the World? review – Kubrick meets covfefe as catastrophe strikes |last=Judah |first=Hettie |date=July 10, 2017 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=July 26, 2017 |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=July 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726012222/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/jul/10/what-if-women-ruled-the-world-review-yael-bartana-manchester-international-festival |url-status=live }}</ref>
* One minute to midnight on the Doomsday Clock is heavily referenced in the [[Grime (music genre)|grime]]/punk crossover song "Effed" by [[Nottingham]] rapper Snowy and Jason Williamson of [[Sleaford Mods]]. Because of the track's political content, there was an initial reluctance from mainstream radio stations to play the track before the [[2019 United Kingdom general election]]. However, the track was later championed by a number of [[BBC Radio]] DJs, including punk innovator [[Iggy Pop]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://notion.online/effed-by-snowy-feat-jason-williamson/|title="EFFED" by Snowy feat. Jason Williamson|website=genius.com|date=November 21, 2019|access-date=February 14, 2020|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224171907/https://notion.online/effed-by-snowy-feat-jason-williamson/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genius.com/Snowy-and-jason-williamson-effed-lyrics|title=Snowy & Jason Williamson (Ft. Jason Williamson & Snowy) – EFFED|access-date=February 14, 2020|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320044256/https://genius.com/Snowy-and-jason-williamson-effed-lyrics|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000d1lz|title=BBC Radio 6 Music - Iggy Pop, Iggy Confidential with a track from his album of 2019|work=BBC|access-date=February 14, 2020|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308152816/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000d1lz|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In the ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' season 13 episode "The Bunker", the unsubs abduct women using the Doomsday Clock.
* The ''[[Madam Secretary (TV series)|Madam Secretary]]'' season 2 episode "On the Clock" features the Doomsday Clock, as the characters try to keep it from moving forward.
* The character Bezel in ''[[Chikn Nuggit]]'' is a personification of the Doomsday Clock.

==See also==
* {{annotated link|Apocalypticism}}
* {{annotated link|The Bomb (film)|''The Bomb''}}
* {{annotated link|Climate apocalypse}}
* {{annotated link|Climate Clock}}
* {{annotated link|DEFCON}}
* {{annotated link|Doomsday device}}
* {{annotated link|Eschatology}}
* {{annotated link|Extinction symbol}}
* {{annotated link|Metronome (public artwork)|''Metronome''}}
* {{annotated link|Mutual assured destruction}}
* {{annotated link|New World Order conspiracy theory|New World Order}}
* {{annotated link|Nuclear terrorism}}
* {{annotated link|Pax Atomica}}
* {{annotated link|Svalbard Global Seed Vault}}
* {{annotated link|World Scientists' Warning to Humanity}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://thebulletin.org ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'']
* [https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/past-announcements/ Timeline of the Doomsday Clock]

{{Doomsday}}

[[Category:Doomsday scenarios| ]]
[[Category:Alert measurement systems]]
[[Category:Clocks]]
[[Category:Fear]]
[[Category:Nuclear warfare]]
[[Category:Political symbols]]
[[Category:Symbols introduced in 1947]]