Since last year, the clock has been moved forward four seconds and is now just 86 seconds from midnight, a symbolic measure of how close the world is to catastrophe. Among the concerns are escalating conflicts between nuclear-armed countries, with mention of both Russia's invasion of Ukraine and last year's conflict between India and Pakistan.
The assessment is made by a council of researchers and other experts in fields such as nuclear technology and climate science, in collaboration with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS).
In addition to nuclear weapons, BAS also points to the lack of regulation of AI technology and to climate change, among other things.
