The Doomsday Clock hands moved 4 seconds closer to apocalypse

Scientists have set the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight than ever before. Photo: reuters

On January 27, 2026, the journal Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced that the hands of the Doomsday Clock had been moved to 85 seconds before midnight, the closest point in the project’s history. Midnight on this symbolic clock represents the moment of apocalypse, when Earth becomes unfit for life, Reuters reports.

A year ago, the clock stood at 89 seconds to midnight, and in 2023–2024 it showed 90 seconds. Scientists explained the decision to move the hands forward by the lack of progress in addressing global problems.

The Science and Security Board named the main threats as nuclear danger, the climate crisis, biological risks, the development of artificial intelligence, and the spread of disinformation. According to the board’s chair, Daniel Holz, instead of international cooperation, leading states have become “more aggressive and confrontational.”

The journal’s president and CEO, Alexandra Bell, emphasized that a turn toward neo-imperialism and the strengthening of coercive power only bring the world closer to catastrophe. She pointed to Russia’s war against Ukraine, tensions around Iran, conflicts between India and Pakistan, as well as threats on the Korean Peninsula and around Taiwan.

Scientists also recalled that in early February the last remaining treaty between the United States and Russia limiting nuclear arsenals is set to expire.

The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947. Its safest setting was recorded in 1991 – 17 minutes to midnight – after the signing of the treaty on the reduction of strategic arms. Since then, the hands have steadily moved toward the critical mark.

As the UOJ previously reported, on January 28, 2025, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced that the Doomsday Clock had moved forward again – 89 seconds remained to midnight, bringing the world closer to the apocalypse.

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