On January 27, 2026, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds to midnight. That is the closest it has ever been. The Board moved it forward four seconds from the 2025 setting of 89 seconds. The setting is unchanged as of June 22, 2026. The next announcement is expected in January 2027.
Last updated: June 22, 2026
85 seconds to midnight is not a timer and not a forecast of a date. Midnight stands for global catastrophe in the judgment of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. A setting of 85 seconds means their Science and Security Board believes humanity is closer to that point than at any time since the clock was created in 1947.
The hands do not tick between announcements. The clock stays at 85 seconds until the next decision. The four-second move was larger than the one-second move from 90 to 89 in 2025. The Board cited nuclear risk, climate change, and artificial intelligence together, not one headline on its own. 89 seconds was last year's setting. If an older article still says 89 seconds, that figure is out of date.
The Science and Security Board said every major threat category had worsened. Nuclear risk included the Russia-Ukraine war, US-China tension, North Korean missile tests, and arms-control agreements that had lapsed, including New START with no successor. Climate risk included 2025 as the hottest year on record and missed emissions targets. Technology risk included AI-enabled weapons, attacks on critical infrastructure, and no binding international rules for AI. Middle East risk included Iran's nuclear program and a wider regional conflict.
The Board treated those threats as one problem. Nuclear tension is harder to manage when false information spreads quickly, and climate disasters add pressure in places that are already unstable. That combination, not a single event, is why the clock moved four seconds. Iran's enrichment program and the stalling of talks to replace the nuclear deal were named as part of the nuclear case. How the US-Iran crisis relates to the clock.
The Bulletin announces a new setting once a year, usually in January. The last announcement was January 27, 2026, when the clock moved from 89 seconds to 85 seconds. The next one is expected in January 2027. Between announcements the official setting stays fixed, even when the news changes. There have been 28 settings since 1947.
The clock has also moved backward eight times, including the 1991 move to 17 minutes. A closer setting is a warning, not a claim that the outcome is fixed.
Current Doomsday Clock time | What the Doomsday Clock is | Complete timeline of all changes | What 89 seconds meant in 2025
Loading interactive experience...