Doomsday Clock is now 89 seconds to midnight, what does that mean?

The Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, set at 89 seconds to midnight, is displayed during a news conference at the United States Institute of Peace, Tuesday, January 28, 2025 [Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo]

For the first time in three years, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) moved the Doomsday Clock forward by one second to 89 seconds before midnight, signalling a heightened risk of global catastrophe.

“It is the determination of the science and security board of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists that the world has not made sufficient progress on existential risks threatening all of humanity. We thus move the clock forward,” Daniel Holz, chair of the organisation’s science and security board, said during a livestreamed event on Tuesday.