• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Geographical

Geographical

Official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

  • Home
  • Briefing
  • Science & Environment
  • Climate
    • Climatewatch
  • Wildlife
  • Culture
  • Geopolitics
    • Geopolitical hotspots
  • Study Geography
    • University directory
    • Masters courses
    • Course guides
      • Climate change
      • Environmental science
      • Human geography
      • Physical geography
    • University pages
      • University of Aberdeen
      • Aberystwyth University
      • Cardiff University
      • University of Chester
      • Edge Hill University
      • The University of Edinburgh
      • Oxford Brookes University
      • Queen Mary University of London
    • Geography careers
      • Charity/non-profit
      • Education & research
      • Environment
      • Finance & consulting
      • Government and Local Government
    • Applications and advice
  • Quizzes
  • Magazine
    • Issue previews
    • Subscribe
    • Manage My Subscription
    • Special Editions
    • Podcasts
    • Geographical Archive
    • Book reviews
    • Crosswords
    • Advertise with us
  • Subscribe

The Doomsday Clock is almost at midnight

26 January 2024
3 minutes

90 seconds to midnight. Image: Holger Kleine/Shutterstock

The world will end when the Doomsday Clock strikes midnight. And for 2024, midnight is only 90 seconds away!


By Stuart Butler

The Doomsday Clock, which was established by members in 1947, uses the hands of a clock to represent the upcoming likelihood of a human-made global catastrophe. The closer the clock gets to striking midnight then the closer we are to disaster.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was established in 1945 by Albert Einstein,  Robert Oppenheimer, and the University of Chicago scientists who had helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project. Two years later, the members created the Doomsday Clock, and every January for the last 77 years, members of the Bulletin have assessed the world’s geo-political and environmental situation and set the clock hands accordingly. And this year – like last year – we are a mere 90 seconds from midnight.

The original 1947 time on the Doomsday Clock was seven minutes to midnight. Since then, the clock has been moved backwards eight times (the furthest from midnight was 17 minutes in 1991) and forward 17 times. The current 90 seconds to midnight is the closest it has ever been to midnight.

A Ukrainian soldier stands on the checkpoint to the city Irpin near Kyiv during the evacuation of local people under Russian shelling. Image: Kutsenko Volodymyr/Shutterstock

The decision to maintain the clock at such a high-risk level was made because of a variety of global threats, including the Russia-Ukraine war and deterioration of nuclear arms reduction agreements; the Climate Crisis and 2023’s official designation as the hottest year on record; the increased sophistication of genetic engineering technologies; and the dramatic advance of generative AI which could magnify disinformation and corrupt the global information environment making it harder to solve the larger existential challenges.

The Doomsday Clock statement regarding the 90 seconds to midnight status said, ‘Ominous trends continue to point the world toward global catastrophe. The war in Ukraine and the widespread and growing reliance on nuclear weapons increase the risk of nuclear escalation. China, Russia, and the United States are all spending huge sums to expand or modernize their nuclear arsenals, adding to the ever-present danger of nuclear war through mistake or miscalculation. In 2023, Earth experienced its hottest year on record, and massive floods, wildfires, and other climate-related disasters affected millions of people around the world. Meanwhile, rapid and worrisome developments in the life sciences and other disruptive technologies accelerated, while governments made only feeble efforts to control them. . .. But the world can be made safer. The Clock can move away from midnight.’

Gov. Jerry Brown, executive chair of the Bulletin said: ‘As though on the Titanic, leaders are steering the world toward catastrophe–more nuclear bombs, vast carbon emissions, dangerous pathogens and artificial intelligence. Only the big powers like China, America and Russia can pull us back. Despite deep antagonisms, they must cooperate – or we are doomed.’

Although talk of us all being ‘doomed’ doesn’t make for cheery bedtime reading, there is still some hope. As Rachel Bronson, PhD, president and CEO of the Bulletin, says, ‘Make no mistake: resetting the Clock at 90 seconds to midnight is not an indication that the world is stable. Quite the opposite. It’s urgent for governments and communities around the world to act. And the Bulletin remains hopeful—and inspired—in seeing the younger generations leading the charge.’

Related articles

The Cost of War in Ukraine

How is climate change impacting the seasons

Oppenheimer’s legacy: nuclear test sites around the world

AI to impact 40 per cent of jobs worldwide and deepen inequality

Filed Under: Briefing Tagged With: Ukraine

Protected by Copyscape

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Geographical Magazine from just £4.99

Geographical subscriptions

Sign up to our newsletter and get the best of Geographical direct to your inbox

Popular Now

Marauiá mountain range. Yanomami Indigenous Territory, state of Amazonas, Brazil, 2018

Remembering Sebastião Salgado

The lavender fields at Castle Farm

Discovering Britain: Darent Valley, earthly paradise

Glaciologist Ricardo Jaña of the Chilean Antarctica Institute, research chief at the Union Glacier Joint Scientific Polar Station

Life, science and climate urgency on Antarctica’s Union Glacier

QUIZ: Geography Trivia

QUIZ: Geography Trivia

Pakistan is extremely water-stressed

When water becomes a weapon: The rise of global water tensions

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Geographical print magazine cover

Published in the UK since 1935, Geographical is the official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG).

Informative, authoritative and educational, this site’s content covers a wide range of subject areas, including geography, culture, wildlife and exploration, illustrated with superb photography.

Click Here for SUBSCRIPTION details

Want to access Geographical on your tablet or smartphone? Press the Apple, Android or PC/Mac image below to download the app for your device

Footer Apple Footer Android Footer Mac-PC

More from Geographical

  • Subscriptions
  • Get our Newsletter
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Copyright © 2025 · Site by Syon Media