New Delhi, Jan. 27 -- The Doomsday Clock, a symbolic gauge of how close humanity is to self-destruction, has been moved to 85 seconds to midnight, its closest point ever, as global risks from nuclear weapons, climate change and artificial intelligence intensify.

The clock was advanced by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a Chicago-based science advocacy group, which warned that the world is becoming "increasingly aggressive, adversarial and nationalistic," eroding international cooperation needed to avert catastrophe.

The shift brings the clock four seconds closer to midnight than last year, when it stood at 89 seconds.

The Doomsday Clock is a metaphorical warning system designed to show how close the world is to a man-made global...