The ‘Doomsday Clock’ was moved one second closer to midnight on Tuesday, as nuclear experts warned that humanity now stands closer to annihilation than ever before.

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists cited the growing risk of nuclear war, the failure to combat climate change, and advances in disruptive technologies such as AI as the main reasons behind its decision to set the Clock at 89 seconds to midnight – symbolising the end of the world.

“The Doomsday Clock stands closer to catastrophe than at any moment in its history,” said Juan Manuel Santos, a former Colombian president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who participated in Bulletin’s announcement.

“The Clock speaks to the existential threats that confront us and the need for unity and bold leadership to turn back its hands,” he added.

Daniel Holz, the Chair of the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board, said that the Bulletin’s judgement was influenced by the “inadequate” global response to climate change and the fact that advances in biotechnology and AI “have far outpaced policy, regulation and a thorough understanding of their consequences”.

In a veiled reference to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, Holz also cited “active conflicts involving nuclear powers” and the collapse of arms control treaties as being among the critical threats facing humanity.

Such dangers “are greatly exacerbated” by the rapid spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation that “degrades the communication ecosystem and increasingly blurs the line between truth and falsehood”, he said.

Founded by Albert Einstein and other Manhattan Project members at the dawn of the nuclear age, the Bulletin originally set its clock at seven minutes to midnight in 1947.

The Clock was moved to two minutes to midnight at the height of the Cold War in the 1950s, before being set back as far as 17 minutes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Barring a brief reprieve in the early 2010s, it has crept forwards ever since.

The Bulletin moved the Clock forward from 100 to 90 seconds to midnight in 2023, as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine heightened fears of a global nuclear conflagration. The Clock was held at 90 seconds last year.