Is the world ending? Doomsday Clock just revealed its findings and it’s not looking good guys

Each year, people around the globe wait patiently for the Doomsday Clock to reveal whether we are heading for an apocalypse, and given the absolute sh**ter of a year we’ve just had, it’s not looking good for 2025.

We’ve had Donald Trump becoming the President again, countless wars across the globe, and that’s to say nothing of the devastating breakup between Tasha Ghouri and Andrew Le Page! Of course, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists don’t take into account reality TV splits, but they should.

Instead, the board considers world-ending factors like nuclear proliferation, climate change, disruptive technologies, and geopolitical conflicts like the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The terrifying concept was invented in 1947

The Doomsday Clock was invented in 1947 by giants J. Robert Oppenheimer, Albert Einstein & Eugene Rabinowitch. Originally, it only took into account the threat of nuclear disaster but it has since widened its parameters because our world – for lack of a better explanation – really sucks.

Each year, members of the Science and Security Board ponder two very important questions:

• Is humanity safer or at greater risk this year than last year?
• Is humanity safer or at greater risk compared to the 78 years the clock has been set?

Though the clock’s hands don’t necessarily mean we’re all about to be wiped off the map, it serves as a metaphor for how close humanity is to self-annihilation.

Who decides where the Doomsday Clock’s hands are?

From 1947 to 1973, the clock’s creator Eugene Rabinowitch was the one who decided where its hands would be. Following his death, the honour was handed to the Science and Security Board from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

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They meet twice a year to discuss the state of the world and this year the board is fronted by members Juan Manuel Santos, Daniel Holz, Herb Lin, Suzet McKinney, Manpreet Sethi and Robert Socolow.

What happens if the 2025 Doomsday Clock gets to midnight?

Though it’s yet to happen, if the hands hit midnight scientists are hypothesizing that the world is inches away from annihilation. Most likely, this would result in our planet being unhabitable to humans.

Again, it’s just a metaphor and the world won’t instantly explode if midnight is the designated time.

Where is the clock currently?

2024’s Doomsday Clock announcement saw the hands at 90 seconds to midnight, the highest they had been in its 75-year history. The lowest point was immediately after the conclusion of the Cold War. On Tuesday, the scientists moved the hands back one second to 89 seconds, meaning we are slightly further away from destruction than this time last year – yay!

But that doesn’t mean it’s something to be celebrated as 89 seconds to midnight is still abysmal. A few things that factored into the decision included the hottest year on record, natural disasters, and the growing risk of AI.

Hopefully next year we’ll be at 88 seconds!

Featured image credit: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Shutterstock