2026 Doomsday Clock Set at Record 85 Seconds to Midnight, Scientists Warn
Scientists tracking global existential risks have announced a new setting for the symbolic Doomsday Clock, moving it to 85 seconds to midnight — the closest it has ever been to a theoretical global catastrophe. The annual determination was made this week by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a group of experts that includes Nobel Laureates, policymakers and scientists focused on threats to humanity.
The Doomsday Clock is a metaphorical device created in 1947 to illustrate how close humanity is to “midnight,” representing total destruction, typically from nuclear war. Over the years, its setting has been adjusted based on global developments, ranging from the Cold War to the rise of emerging technologies. The new time of 85 seconds is four seconds closer than the 89 seconds to midnight set for 2025, and marks the nearest approach to midnight in the Clock’s history.
In announcing the 2026 time, the Bulletin cited a range of escalating dangers. Central among them are renewed nuclear tensions, including the expiration of key arms control treaties and confrontational behaviour by nuclear-armed states, which the organization says has weakened long-standing frameworks that once helped restrain an arms race. Climate change, biological threats, and the rapid development and potential misuse of artificial intelligence also featured prominently in the group’s assessment.
The Bulletin’s president and CEO, Alexandra Bell, said the move reflects “catastrophic risks” that are worsening and a decline in international cooperation to address them. Experts stressed that while technological advances and geopolitical shifts have offered benefits, they have simultaneously increased the potential for large-scale harm if not carefully managed.
The Doomsday Clock does not predict a literal apocalypse; rather, it serves as a global indicator intended to alert world leaders and the public to the urgency of mitigating risks posed by human activities. Midnight on the Clock symbolizes the point at which civilization could face irreversible catastrophe, and the 2026 setting underscores enduring challenges in diplomacy, climate policy, and governance of emerging technologies.
Historically, the Clock has been adjusted dozens of times since its inception, moving backward when tangible arms control progress was made, and forward when global relations deteriorated or new threats emerged. The closest setting before 2026 was 89 seconds to midnight in 2025; the farthest from midnight occurred in 1991 at 17 minutes, following the end of the Cold War.
Scientists continue to emphasise that the Clock’s message is not one of hopelessness but rather a call to action: to strengthen diplomatic engagements, reinvigorate climate commitments, and develop international frameworks for emerging technologies so that humanity can move the metaphorical hands further from catastrophe.
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