What the Doomsday Clock actually means as everyone given huge update today

We're just a handful of hours away from the Doomsday Clock's latest update and it's clear we're all very antsy as to see what it will be.

Yep, the clock will update later on this afternoon, making it only a matter of time before we're all thrust into an inevitable cloud of existential dread.

Nothing like a ticking countdown to total oblivion to lift those January blues, eh?

We're a matter of hours away from the 2025 Doomsday Clock update (FPG / Getty Images)

What is the Doomsday Clock?

Now, in case you're 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 technologies.

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, she explained she set the time at seven minutes to midnight because 'it seemed the right time on the page … it suited my eye'.

2024's Doomsday Clock was set at 90 seconds to midnight (Anna Moneymaker / Staff / Getty Images)

When is the Doomsday Clock updated for 2025?

The eagerly-anticipated update will come from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on Tuesday (28 January).

"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.

We'll hear about the latest update from 3pm UK time.

What time is the Doomsday Clock currently?

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.

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.

Could Donald Trump's climate policies influence this year's Doomsday Clock time? (Ian Maule / Stringer / Getty Images)

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.

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 Doomsday Clock announcement will be available to watch on a YouTube livestream at 3pm GMT.

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