--- description: The Doomsday Clock remains at three minutes to midnight, the closest to the brink of global destruction since the height of the Cold War title: World Still 3 Minutes Away From Destruction, Doomsday Clock Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6001e35167509167/69887aae3c1639348b45bb99/doomsday-clock1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # World Still 3 Minutes Away From Destruction, Doomsday Clock Says by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 26, 2016 7:14 PM CUT  Scientists from the group Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists speak during a press conference after updating the Doomsday Clock on Jan. 22, 2015 in Washington, D.C. Scientists from the group Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists speak during a press conference after updating the Doomsday Clock on Jan. 22, 2015 in Washington, D.C.Win McNamee—Getty Images by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 26, 2016 7:14 PM CUT The Doomsday Clock remains at three minutes to midnight, the closest to the brink of global destruction since the height of the Cold War, representatives of the _Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists_ announced Tuesday. Constructed in 1947 as an indicator of an oncoming nuclear catastrophe, the Doomsday Clock now factors in climate change and other threats to humanity as well in its projections of global safety. The clock, which counts down to an apocalypse at midnight, has moved some 21 times since it was put in place. Last year, the clock was [moved forward](http://time.com/3680932/doomsday-clock-three-minutes/ "undefined") to just three minutes to midnight, largely because of climate change and what was seen as unchecked nuclear proliferation. Scientists from the _Bulletin_ cited many of the same reasons this year, but noted that there were bright spots such as the Iran deal and the climate talks in Paris. “That decision is not good news, but an expression of dismay that world leaders continue to fail to focus their efforts and the world’s attention on reducing the extreme danger posed by nuclear weapons and climate change,” _The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists_ Science and Security Board wrote in a statement. “When we call these dangers existential, that is exactly what we mean: They threaten the very existence of civilization and therefore should be the first order of business for leaders who care about their constituents and their countries.” The last time the clock remained at 3 minutes to midnight was in 1984, a moment in the Cold War where communications had gone dark between the United States and the Soviet Union. Several years later the clock reached its safest point in history, 17 minutes to midnight, after an agreement between America and the Soviets to reduce their numbers of nuclear weapons. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4194368/doomsday-clock-3-minutes-to-midnight/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4194368/doomsday-clock-3-minutes-to-midnight/"},"headline":"World Still 3 Minutes Away From Destruction, Doomsday Clock Says","datePublished":"2016-01-26T19:14:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:27:32.497Z","description":"Scientists cited climate change and nuclear weapons as existential threats","url":"https://time.com/4194368/doomsday-clock-3-minutes-to-midnight/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6001e35167509167/69887aae3c1639348b45bb99/doomsday-clock1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6001e35167509167/69887aae3c1639348b45bb99/doomsday-clock1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Atomic Scientists Announce Possible Change To Doomsday Clock","caption":"Scientists from the group Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists speak during a press conference after updating the Doomsday Clock on Jan. 22, 2015 in Washington, D.C.","creditText":"Win McNamee—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4194368/doomsday-clock-3-minutes-to-midnight/","name":"World Still 3 Minutes Away From Destruction, Doomsday Clock Says"}}]}] ```