For 2026, the clock was set at just 85 seconds to midnight – “the closest it has ever been to catastrophe,” according to the Bulletin.
“A year ago, we warned that the world was perilously close to global disaster and that any delay in reversing course increased the probability of catastrophe,” the Science and Security Board with the Bulletin explained of its update this year. “Rather than heed this warning, Russia, China, the United States, and other major countries have instead become increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic.
“Far too many leaders have grown complacent and indifferent, in many cases adopting rhetoric and policies that accelerate rather than mitigate these existential risks.”
