We're just hours away from finding out just how close to self-destruction we really are as the Doomsday Clock will update very soon.
It's that time of year again, folks. Time to get all existential...
That's right, we're about to find out how screwed we are as an update from the infamous Doomsday Clock is once again on the horizon.
The history of the Doomsday Clock
For those not in the know of the phenomenon, the Doomsday Clock is designed to show just how close humanity is to global catastrophe caused by man-made technology.
Advert
The metaphorical device is used to warn the public about our proximity to self-destruction namely through the use of nuclear weapons, having first started running in 1947.
It was created by artist Martyl Langsdorf for The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists magazine. At the time, he explained he designed it because 'it seemed the right time on the page … it suited my eye'.
When will we hear about the 2025 Doomsday Clock?
The eagerly-anticipated update will come from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on Tuesday (28 January).
Advert
"For 2025, the SASB [Science and Security Board] will consider multiple global threats in the Clock setting, including the proliferation of nuclear weapons, disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, the Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Hamas war, Israel-Hezbollah conflict, bio-threats and the continued climate crisis," the website outlines.
Now, the last couple years have shown the hands of the clock remaining at 90 seconds to midnight - the most dangerous position since it was first created and was set a full seven minutes to midnight at the time.
This is the same as was set in 2023.
Prior to that, the clock had stood at 100 seconds to midnight which was closer to destruction than at any point since it was created 78 years ago.
Advert
When was the furthest from midnight the Doomsday Clock has ever been?
Over three decades ago back in 1991.
In that year, it was set at 17 minutes to midnight after the US and the Soviet Union signed the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first treaty to provide for deep cuts to the two countries’ strategic nuclear weapons arsenals, followed by the dissolution of the USSR.
Advert
In order to work out the update, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists asks if humanity is safer or at greater risk this year compared to last year and if humanity is at a greater risk than in the past 75 years.
If they believe the answer is yes then the clock has to move.
The scientists will have, no doubt, taken note of the impacts of new US president Donald Trump's global policies which see the 78-year-old Republican leader already threatening to to buy Greenland and seize the Panama Canal.
The Doomsday Clock announcement will be available to watch on a YouTube livestream at 3.00pm GMT.
Rhiannon Ingle