Is Doomsday coming closer? Scientists will let us know next Tuesday, Jan. 27, whether or not the time of the historic "Doomsday Clock" will be adjusted.
Now at 89 seconds to midnight, the clock is symbolic and has been maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1947. The closer to a setting of midnight, the closer it is estimated that a global disaster will occur.
Historically, the ominous clock measured the danger of nuclear disaster. In the past two decades, three other areas of concern have been added: climate change, artificial Intelligence, and mis- and disinformation.
Each year, the members of the Science and Security Board are asked two questions:
Is humanity safer or at greater risk this year than last year?
Is humanity safer or at greater risk compared to the 79 years the clock has been set?
Their answers set the clock for the coming year.
The announcement will be made on the morning of Jan. 27 at a press conference at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC.
When was the Doomsday Clock started?
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by University of Chicago scientists who had helped develop the first nuclear weapons in the Manhattan Project.
The scientists created the clock in 1947 using the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero), to convey threats to humanity and the Earth.
What time is the Doomsday Clock set to?
In January 2025, the Doomsday Clock was set at 89 seconds to midnight, the closest to midnight ever in the Clock's 79-year history.
The setting of the clock has jumped forward and back over the past 79 years, depending on world events.
The furthest from midnight it has ever been was in 1991, when it was set at 17 minutes to midnight after the United States and the Soviet Union signed the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, as the USSR was dissolving.
The first clock, announced in 1947, was set a full 7 minutes to midnight.
Who decides at what time the Doomsday Clock is set?
The Doomsday Clock is set each year by the members of the Bulletin'sScience and Security Boardin consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes eight Nobel laureates. This year's board included 18 members.
The group is given dense reading material over the course of the year to keep up on trends and threats. They meet virtually multiple times and twice in person in Chicago, where the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is based. These meetings also include briefings on new, emerging or changing technologies such as artificial intelligence.
No government is involved in setting the clock. It is entirely the work of scientists and world experts.
Doyle Rice is a national correspondent for USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Is doomsday getting closer? We'll know more next week.
