Doomsday Clock Hits 85 Seconds to Midnight, Super El Niño Brewing as Planet Burns
Doomsday Clock Hits 85 Seconds to Midnight, Super El Niño Brewing as Planet Burns
The world’s top scientists have pushed the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight—the closest humanity has ever come to self-destruction—while European monitors warn that record-breaking sea temperatures in May are set to trigger a “super El Niño” later this year. The combination of nuclear threats, failing climate action, and unchecked extreme weather has created what experts call a “slow sleepwalk into increasing dangers.”
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which sets the clock, points to a “complete failure in leadership” in the US and other nations to stop multiplying crises. Climate change is fueling wars, artificial intelligence is being embedded in nuclear weapons systems, and global readiness for future pandemics has weakened. “Science is advancing at a rate that defies our ability to understand it, much less control it,” said leader Alexandra Bell [144708].
Meanwhile, global sea surface temperatures are on track to hit a record high this month. Scientists say this unprecedented ocean heat could trigger a “super El Niño” later this year—a powerful climate pattern that brings extreme weather worldwide, threatening agriculture, water supplies, and ecosystems [144303]. The warming oceans add to a year already marked by catastrophic floods, severe droughts, and unusually intense storms across the globe [49594].
The UN Environment Assembly has demanded accelerated international action on the interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, calling for stronger cooperation to build “planetary resilience” [21446]. But on the ground, damage is accelerating. In the Congo Basin, logging, mining, and farming are straining the planet’s second-largest rainforest faster than it can recover, threatening its ability to store carbon and support wildlife [140099]. Europe faced a relentless year of climate disasters in 2025, from floods to wildfires, with experts warning these severe events may become standard [36941].
In Eastern Africa, a triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution is directly threatening food security—causing extreme droughts and floods that ruin crops and kill livestock [91481]. Lebanon’s Agriculture Ministry reports that Israeli military operations have destroyed a farmland area the size of Chicago and killed 1.8 million poultry and livestock, with small farmers hit hardest [144002]. A US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran is causing severe environmental damage, including “black rain” falling on Tehran after strikes on oil depots, with experts warning the toxic fallout could poison the region for decades [107264][101623].
The year 2025 marked a turning point: extreme droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, and water shortages were no longer seen as exceptional disasters but became regular events, driven by mega-projects, failed climate policies, and increased militarization [37775]. With the Doomsday Clock at its most dangerous setting ever, the question remains: can humanity push the hands back? [144708]