Scientists to Announce “Doomsday Clock” Time

PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — Scientists behind a "Doomsday Clock" that measures the likelihood of a global cataclysm are set to announce whether civilization is any closer or farther from disaster.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is expected to unveil the minute hand on the metaphorical clock on Tuesday. The clock reflects how vulnerable the world is to catastrophe from nuclear weapons, climate change and new technologies.

California Gov. Jerry Brown will join former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry for a discussion at Stanford University after the unveiling.

The scientists behind the bulletin adjusted the clock from five minutes-to-midnight to three minutes-to-midnight last year, citing climate change, modernization of nuclear weapons and outsized nuclear weapons arsenals.

The clock is assessed each year and has also previously been adjusted in the opposite direction, most recently in 2010 when bulletin scientists cited nuclear talks between the U.S. and Russia and progress toward addressing climate change.