The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which is the group that sets the time of the clock, introduced it back in 1947 to predict the chance of annihilation from a range of threats

The “doomsday clock” symbolising how close humanity is to destruction ticked one second closer to midnight Tuesday as concerns on nuclear war, climate and public health were jolted by US President Donald Trump’s return.

The world is closer than ever before to total apocalypse, the scientists behind the Doomsday Clock have warned. The Doomsday Clock was begun in 1947, as a metaphor for the danger that the world was facing.