Doomsday Clock to be updated today as we’re closer to midnight than ever

Scientists will decide how close we are to the apocalypse

The Doomsday Clock is a 'clock' designed to show how close the world is to global catastrophe caused by humanity, such as nuclear war, with midnight being the hour of the end of the world.

The clock will be set for 2024 today (January 23), and at the moment it's the closest to midnight it's ever been.

Last year, it was set to just 90 seconds away from disaster, after having spent two years at 100 seconds to midnight.

The time of the clock is decided by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, who set up the clock in 1947. Since it was created, the minute hand on the clock has been moved 25 times.

Speaking last January, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists President Rachel Bronson said: "The time on the Doomsday Clock represents the judgement of leading science and security experts about the threat to human existence, with a focus on man-made threats."

In a press release, she added: “We are living in a time of unprecedented danger, and the Doomsday Clock time reflects that reality.

"90 seconds to midnight is the closest the Clock has ever been set to midnight, and it’s a decision our experts do not take lightly. The US government, its NATO allies and Ukraine have a multitude of channels for dialogue; we urge leaders to explore all of them to their fullest ability to turn back the Clock.”

If the clock is ever moved to midnight, it pretty much means that global catastrophe is unavoidable or has already began.

Bronson said: “When the clock is at midnight, that means there's been some sort of nuclear exchange or catastrophic climate change that's wiped out humanity. We never really want to get there and we won't know it when we do."

The furthest the time has ever been from midnight was in 1991, when the clock hand was set to 17 minutes to midnight following the end of the Cold War.

It seems highly unlikely that the time of the Doomsday Clock will be moved backwards, following a year which saw the war between Israel and Gaza, the continuation of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and was also the hottest year on record.

The 2024 Doomsday Clock announcement will take place at 15:00GMT and will be broadcast live on YouTube here.

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