Each year, the Doomsday Clock warns of the point at which we are before the total and definitive destruction of our planet with technologies created by ourselves.

The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clock that uses the analogy of the minutes that humanity has left to reach midnight, the time that represents global catastrophe. This clock was created at the beginning of the Cold War by a group of scientists at the University of Chicago.

A Science and Security Board, made up of experts in nuclear technology and climate science, adjusts the hands of the clock at the beginning of the year. These experts follow various data related to the number of nuclear weapons in the world, parts per million of CO₂ in the atmosphere, the acidity of the oceans, and the rise in sea levels. They also value the efforts of leaders and citizens to reduce nuclear dangers and greenhouse gas emissions. With all this information, the Board issues a judgement on the possible consequences if urgent action is not taken.

This year, 2025, the clock marks that we are 89 seconds from midnight, closer than ever. In 2023 and 2024, we were 90 seconds away, in 2020, 100 seconds away, and in 2018, 120 seconds away. This change of hands is due to a set of factors, mainly nuclear trends, new transgressive technologies, climate change, and biological threats.

The danger of nuclear use continues to increase due to the development of new capabilities and the weak strength of the NPT and NPT treaties in the face of countries such as Russia, China, and the United States, which have adopted positions aligned with the nuclear advancement movement. These positions could easily lead to nuclear war.

With advances and proposals to integrate artificial intelligence into weapons of war, questions are being raised about the extent to which machines can make military decisions. As the global information ecosystem becomes more disorganised, it becomes harder to solve the grand challenges facing society. Artificial intelligence (AI) could worsen this situation, further accelerating chaos rather than helping to control it.

2024 was the hottest year on record, with extreme weather events such as floods, cyclones, extreme heat, droughts, and fires. Globally, election campaigns showed that climate change was a low priority, especially in countries like the United States.

The movement of the hands to one second less than the year 2024 indicates that, with the world so close to the precipice, any movement, no matter how small, should be seen as a sign of extreme danger and a clear warning that every second increases the possibility of global disaster.

Link to the announcement!