The Doomsday Clock has remained at 90 seconds to midnight for a second year in a row.
Maintaining last year’s setting means the clock’s keepers at the Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists believe the threat of global apocalypse has not cooled off in the past 12 months.
The clock is a symbolic timepiece showing how close the world is to ending.
Among other factors, the bulletin cited the wars in Ukraine and Gaza as reasons for the continued setting, as well as the Earth experiencing its hottest year on record.
The increased sophistication of genetic engineering technologies and the dramatic advance of generative AI were also factors.
Rachel Bronson, PhD, president and CEO, the Bulletin, said: "Make no mistake: resetting the clock at 90 seconds to midnight is not an indication that the world is stable. Quite the opposite.
"It’s urgent for governments and communities around the world to act. And the Bulletin remains hopeful and inspired in seeing the younger generations leading the charge."
The Doomsday Clock statement said: "Ominous trends continue to point the world toward global catastrophe. The war in Ukraine and the widespread and growing reliance on nuclear weapons increase the risk of nuclear escalation.
"China, Russia, and the United States are all spending huge sums to expand or modernise their nuclear arsenals, adding to the ever-present danger of nuclear war through mistake or miscalculation.
"In 2023, Earth experienced its hottest year on record, and massive floods, wildfires, and other climate-related disasters affected millions of people around the world.
"Rapid and worrisome developments in the life sciences and other disruptive technologies accelerated, while governments made only feeble efforts to control them... but the world can be made safer."
The Doomsday clock’s time is set by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board (SASB) in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes nine Nobel Laureates.
In January 2023, the Doomsday Clock was set at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest to midnight the clock had ever been.
The Bulletin called on world leaders to "commence serious dialogue" about current global threats.
It stated: "As the first step, and despite their profound disagreements, three of the world’s leading powers - the United States, China, and Russia -should commence serious dialogue about each of the global threats outlined here.
"At the highest levels, these three countries need to take responsibility for the existential danger the world now faces. They have the capacity to pull the world back from the brink of catastrophe. They should do so, with clarity and courage, and without delay."
