Doomsday Clock Set To 85 Seconds To Midnight, Closest Point To Global Catastrophe In History

Brian Burns Wed, August 12, 2026 at 6:18 PM UTC

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Doomsday Clock

The Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced in January that it set the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight, marking the closest the symbolic timepiece has ever been to a global civilization-ending event.

The decision moved the clock forward from its previous setting, driven by what the organization characterized as escalating nuclear risks, severe climate impacts, unregulated biological research, and the unconstrained integration of artificial intelligence in military systems.

According to the Bulletin’s statement, deteriorating relations among major powers have eroded international arms control frameworks. The report highlighted increased nuclear modernization efforts by China, Russia, and the United States, alongside the expiration of the New START treaty—the final remaining bilateral agreement capping strategic nuclear warheads between Washington and Moscow.

The organization also cited regional security crises involving nuclear-armed states, including the conflict in Ukraine, border clashes between India and Pakistan, and military strikes targeting Iranian nuclear infrastructure.

Science and Security Board (SASB)

“Rather than heed this warning, Russia, China, the United States, and other major countries have instead become increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic,” the Science and Security Board stated in the release, adding that a “failure of leadership” led to the setting.

The statement noted that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reached 150 percent of preindustrial benchmarks, while global sea levels hit record highs. The board pointed to extreme weather events—such as severe droughts in South America and Africa, as well as lethal heatwaves in Europe—as evidence of accelerating environmental degradation, while criticizing policy responses as insufficient.

In the domain of biological threats, the Bulletin highlighted emerging risks linked to the potential laboratory creation of synthetic “mirror life” organisms, as well as the risk of AI systems assisting in pathogen design.

The report further noted that the integration of artificial intelligence into defense planning and nuclear command structures presents new stability challenges, particularly as nations roll back previous AI safety oversight frameworks.

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To reverse the trajectory, the Bulletin outlined several policy recommendations.

These include resuming nuclear arms control negotiations between the United States and Russia, international agreements restricting the creation of synthetic cellular structures, regulatory guardrails on military AI applications, and renewed legislative measures to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created the Doomsday Clock two years later, using the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero) to convey threats to humanity and the planet.

The Doomsday Clock is set every year by the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes eight Nobel laureates. The Clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world’s vulnerability to global catastrophe caused by man-made technologies.

READ: Wall Of Steel: Trump Claims U.S. Controls Strait Of Hormuz In Scathing Post On Iran

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Doomsday Clock Set To 85 Seconds To Midnight, Closest Point To Global Catastrophe In History

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Breaking”