The position of the hands on the Doomsday Clock has been moved to a record close to symbolic nuclear midnight. The president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists stated that "there are now only 85 seconds left until midnight. This is the shortest time interval recorded in history."
The Doomsday Clock first appeared on the cover of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1947. The time remaining until midnight reflects the level of geopolitical tension: midnight symbolizes the moment when a nuclear catastrophe could occur. In recent years, the hands have only moved forward.
In 2020, the clock first showed 100 seconds to nuclear midnight, and this value did not change the following year. In 2023, the hands approached metaphorical nuclear disaster, leaving 90 seconds to midnight. In 2024, the time remained at the same level, and in 2025, the hands were moved one second forward.
In 2018 and 2019, the clock showed two minutes to midnight, a similar position was also observed in 1953, when hydrogen bomb tests were conducted in the USA and USSR.
The safest period for humanity was 1991, when the hands moved away from nuclear catastrophe by 17 minutes. This occurred after the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-I) between the USSR and the USA, aimed at reducing both the number of reserve and deployed nuclear warheads, as well as decreasing their delivery systems—ballistic missiles, bombers, and submarines.
