2026 Doomsday Clock Announcement Livestream

DOOMSDAY CLOCK ANNOUNCEMENT ON JANUARY 27

Doomsday Clock Time To Be Revealed By The Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists; Factors Include Nuclear Risk, Climate, Infectious Diseases And Disruptive Technologies Like AI.

WASHINGTON, DC – NEWS ADVISORY – The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (Bulletin) will announce whether the time of the iconic “Doomsday Clock” will change during a live, in-person news conference at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC.

In January 2025, the Doomsday Clock was previously set at 89 seconds to midnight, the closest to midnight ever in the Clock’s 78-year history.

WHAT

The Bulletin, stewards of the Doomsday Clock, will announce the 2026 time at a live news conference featuring Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and journalist Maria Ressa, and top experts on nuclear weapons, climate change, biological threats and disruptive technologies. The decision to set the Clock is made by the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board (SASB) in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes eight Nobel Laureates.

WHO

Maria Ressa, Cofounder and CEO of Rappler, professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
Alexandra Bell, president and CEO, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Daniel Holz, PhD, professor at the University of Chicago in the Departments of Physics, Astronomy & Astrophysics, the Enrico Fermi Institute and the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, and SASB chair, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Steve Fetter, PhD, professor of public policy and former dean, University of Maryland, fellow, American Physical Society (APS), member, National Academy of Sciences’ (NAS) Committee on International Security and Arms Control (CISAC), and SASB member, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Inez Fung, ScD, Professor Emerita of Atmospheric Science in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at the University of California, Berkeley, and SASB member, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Asha M. George, DrPH, executive director, Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, and SASB member, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Jon B. Wolfsthal, director of global risk at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), and SASB member, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

WHY

The Doomsday Clock is a metaphor for how close humanity is to self-annihilation, and it serves as a call-to-action to find solutions to the world’s most urgent, man-made existential threats in order to move the hands of the Clock away from midnight.


The Bulletin’s SASB is a select group of globally recognized leaders in nuclear risk, climate change, bio-threats and disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). In addition to setting the Doomsday Clock, SASB members help identify pressing developments that merit further coverage and experts who can provide insightful analysis.

The Bulletin’s Board of Sponsors was established by Albert Einstein in December 1948, with J. Robert Oppenheimer as its first chair. Members of the Board of Sponsors are recruited by their peers from the world’s most accomplished science and security leaders to reinforce the importance of the Bulletin’s activities and publications.