What will happen when Doomsday Clock hits midnight as scientists moved it closer than ever

There's nothing worse than being up against a ticking clock - especially if it's the Doomsday one.

Earlier this week, boffins from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the hands on the terrifying timepiece closer to midnight than ever before.

For the last two years, the hands have sat in the same position, warning that the world is just 90 seconds away from disaster.

Not literally, though - as the Doomsday Clock is supposed to serve as a 'metaphor, logo and brand' all at once, which symbolises how far off a global catastrophe we are.

What is the Doomsday Clock?

The idea was born back in 1947 as a way of warning the world of how close we are to chaos, and its recent movements suggest our planet might be living on borrowed time.

Each year, a group of experts meet to discuss what has gone down over the last 365 days and what is currently hitting the headlines - and it seems the last 12 months have been quite the cause for concern.

What time has the Doomsday Clock been set for 2025?

For 2025, the Doomsday Clock has been positioned at 89 seconds to midnight, which is the closest it ever has been - so in other words, we're on doom's doorstep.

It's been budged one second closer to midnight due to a lack of progress on a series of major global challenges, such as nuclear risk, climate change, and biological threats.

The Doomsday Clock has been moved closer to midnight than ever before (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Scientists say although this might be seen as a minor change, it should serve as a 'warning to all world leaders' and encourage them to pull their fingers out.

Why the Doomsday Clock scientists have moved it forward this year

Daniel Holz, chair of the Bulletin's Science and Security Board, said: "The factors shaping this year's decision - nuclear risk, climate change, the potential misuse of advances in biological science and a variety of other emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence - were not new in 2024.

"But we have seen insufficient progress in addressing the key challenges, and in many cases this is leading to increasingly negative and worrisome effects.

"Setting the Doomsday Clock at 89 seconds to midnight is a warning to all world leaders. The war in Ukraine continues to loom as a large source of nuclear risk.

"That conflict could escalate to include nuclear weapons at any moment due to a rash decision or through accident and miscalculation."

Holz also explained that countries with nuclear interests are 'increasing the size of their arsenals' and 'spending hundreds of billions' on producing deadly weapons.

"Meanwhile arms control treaties are in tatters and there are active conflicts involving nuclear powers," he added.

"The world's attempts to deal with climate change remain inadequate... 2023 was the hottest year on record, by far, and 2024 was even hotter."

So, yeah, being 89 seconds away from midnight is quite a big deal, especially considering the Doomsday Clock was seven minutes away from it when it was first set in 1947.

Since then, it has gone back on eight occasions and forward 18 times, showing an overall growing worry about the state of things around the world.

But what would actually happen if the Doomsday Clock struck midnight?

But what actually happens if the hands hit 12? (Getty Stock Photo)

What happens when the Doomsday Clock hits midnight?

Well, as this hour represents the apocalypse, there probably won't be anything great coming our way... but we won't be here to see it, anyway.

Rachel Bronson, who is the president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, previously revealed what the hands hitting 12 would mean for us lot.

"When the clock is at midnight, that means there's been some sort of nuclear exchange or catastrophic climate change that's wiped out humanity," she said.

"We never really want to get there and we won't know it when we do."

Discussing how they decide on the timing each year, Bronson told Metro that the team ask themselves: "Is humanity safer or at greater risk this year, compared to last year, when we last set it? And is humanity safer, or at greater risk this year compared to the last 75 plus years?"

The Doomsday Clock isn't intended to cause panic, but rather kickstart conversations between people about the future of our planet - and how we can protect it from harm.

Humans have the power to reverse the hands of time on this clock, although the Bulletin say it requires 'serious work and global engagement at all levels of society' to get it done.

Time is of the essence, people!