What happens when the Doomsday Clock hits midnight

Is this the end of the world?

Established in 1947, the Doomsday Clock was created by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and is a symbolic measure of the world's vulnerability to global risks.

Basically, the closer the clock reads to midnight, the closer planet Earth is to disaster.

In three of the last four years leading up to 2022, the clock's hand edged closer to midnight. While it did not move in 2019, its minute hand was set forward in 2018 by 30 seconds, to two minutes before midnight.

Now, people are wondering: what happens when the clock strikes midnight?

In 2023, the Doomsday Clock was the closest its ever been to midnight / Tim Boyle / Staff / Getty

In 2020, the position was the nearest to midnight since 1947, at 100 seconds. Alarmingly, the clock was readjusted to 90 seconds before midnight on January 24 2023.

Scientists explained that this was influenced by continuing threats posed by the climate crisis and the situation of Russia's war on Ukraine, including the potential involvement of nuclear weapons.

When the Doomsday Clock strikes midnight, it suggests that the identified risks have reached a critical point, and urgent action is needed to prevent a global catastrophe.

It is not an exact timeframe of what's going to happen, instead it's used as a public awareness tool, insisting leaders and citizens to take action against the looming risks.

To be totally clear, the clock has never hit midnight.

The CEO of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Rachel Bronson, has previously announced that she hopes it never happens.

She explained: '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.

Experts warn that we 'never really want to go there' if the clock strikes midnight / FPG / Getty

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

The decision to move the minute hand is made by the Bulletin's Science and Security Board, taking things like technology, nuclear tensions, and climate change all into account.

Bronson added: 'It’s a decision our experts do not take lightly. The US government, its NATO allies and Ukraine have a multitude of channels for dialogue; we urge leaders to explore all of them to their fullest ability to turn back the Clock.

'We are living in a time of unprecedented danger, and the Doomsday Clock time reflects that reality.'

With most of 2023 headlines covering the Russian-Ukrainian war and the Israel-Hamas conflict and fears of escalation, it'll be a nail-biting experience to see where the Doomsday Clock places our fate for 2024.

If you're curious to find out, you can see the Doomsday Clock reading for 2024 on January 23.