'Doomsday Clock' ticks closer to midnight over global threats, group says

The world is closer to destruction than ever before, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the group behind the "Doomsday Clock," argued. It added that the infamous clock is set at 85 seconds to midnight. 

"A year ago, we warned that the world was perilously close to global disaster and that any delay in reversing course increased the probability of catastrophe. Rather than heed this warning, Russia, China, the United States, and other major countries have instead become increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic," the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said in its 2026 Doomsday Clock statement.

The group lamented that "hard-won global understandings are collapsing" as "winner-takes-all great power competition" accelerates. Additionally, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists called out world leaders for becoming "complacent and indifferent," while adding that others have adopted rhetoric that increases the risk of reaching midnight.

The Doomsday Clock, which was created in 1947, represents how close humanity is to global catastrophe, with midnight symbolizing the apocalypse. When the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists made its 2025 statement, the clock was at 89 seconds to midnight. The clock's hands were set farthest from midnight in 1991 after the end of the Cold War, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. At that time, the clock was said to be at 17 minutes to midnight.

"The dangerous trends in nuclear risk, climate change, disruptive technologies like AI, and biosecurity are accompanied by another frightening development: the rise of nationalistic autocracies in countries around the world," Daniel Holz, chair of the group's science and security board, said. "Our greatest challenges require international trust and cooperation, and a world splintering into 'us versus them' will leave all of humanity more vulnerable."

"Our current trajectory is unsustainable. National leaders - particularly those in the United States, Russia, and China - must take the lead in finding a path away from the brink. Citizens must insist they do so," the group said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.