Are we doomed? Is the end of the world nigh? Should you be worried?

Depends on who you ask and who you believe. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists recently suggested that we are a bit closer to the end. Yes, that would be the end of the world. Last week, these scientists changed the hands of the so-called Doomsday Clock to just three minutes to midnight.

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by University of Chicago scientists who were involved in the Manhattan Project, which resulted in the development of atomic weapons. Their security board is in charge of the Doomsday Clock and includes 17 Noble Laureates among these scientists.

In true doom and gloom fashion, these board members have brought us close to the brink of extinction by changing the hands on the Doomsday Clock so that it is a bit closer to midnight. 

For those not familiar with this clock, it came into existence in 1947 and is a representation of the danger posed to humanity and the planet by major threats. The original threat measured and feared was nuclear weapons, but in 2007, climate change was also added to the equation and factored into the movement of the clock.

The clock is a simple representation, with midnight representing the apocalypse. When the organization began, the clock was set to 11:53, or seven minutes to midnight. It is assessed annually and adjusted periodically according to the threats perceived by those scientists.

The most recent adjustment was not the first changing of the clock. Since its inception, there have been 20 alterations, some forward and some backwards. The latest (or closest to midnight) the clock has been was in 1953, when in response to thermonuclear testing by both the Soviet Union and the U.S., it was set at just two minutes before midnight.

The furthest from global demise that the clock has registered was in 1991 when it was put back to 17 minutes to midnight. This safe time was the result of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and the dissolution the Soviet Union. The clock has gone forwards and backwards over the subsequent years.

In the latest update the clock was moved closer to midnight and is now at 11:57 p.m., up two minutes from its previous time of 11:55 p.m., which had held steady since 2012. This is the latest the clock has been since the height of the cold war in 1984. 

The Bulletin’s executive director explains that “unchecked climate change and the nuclear arms race . . . pose extraordinary and undeniable threats to the continued existence of humanity.” The two-minute change was precipitated by the increase in discord between the U.S. and Russia regarding the Ukrainian conflict.

Politics aside, the clock’s alarm seems even louder and more insistent now that climate change has been added to the mix. The implications of a warmer planet provide greater concern than the ticking of the clock. 

Scientists at the Bulletin believe that “current efforts are entirely insufficient to prevent a catastrophic warming of Earth. Absent a dramatic course correction, the countries of the world will have emitted enough carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by the end of this century to profoundly transform Earth’s climate, harming millions upon millions of people and threatening many key ecological systems on which civilization relies.”

Whether or not you hear the clock, climate change is a force of nature for which we must take action. Or else the real endangered species might be us.

Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, and author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature.