The Bulletin of ​the Atomic Scientists set the clock to 85 seconds before midnight, the theoretical point of annihilation. That is four seconds closer than it was set last year. The Chicago-based nonprofit created the clock in 1947 during ‍the Cold War tensions that followed World War Two ​to warn the public about how close humankind was to destroying the world.

The symbolic Doomsday Clock managed by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, has been moved forward by 3 seconds this year, making it now 85 seconds to midnight.