The symbolic 'Doomsday Clock' now stands at 7 minutes to midnight, with midnight representing global catastrophe. The clock will now be moved forward on January 17. The keepers of the 'Doomsday Clock' plan to move its hands next Wednesday to reflect what they call worsening nuclear and climate threats to the world.

Doomsday Clock Moves Forward: 'Most Perilous Time Since Hiroshima'

The symbolic clock, maintained by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists was last moved in 2002. It is not known how far they plan to move the clock next week, but amid concerns about the proliferation of nuclear, biological and other weapons and the threat of terrorism in 2002, the group clicked the clock forward two minutes.

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Bulletin officials signaled the change in a media advisory. The release reads: "The major new step reflects growing concerns about a 'Second Nuclear Age' marked by grave threats, including: nuclear ambitions in Iran and North Korea, unsecured nuclear materials in Russia and elsewhere, the continuing 'launch-ready' status of 2,000 of the 25,000 nuclear weapons held by the U.S. and Russia, escalating terrorism, and new pressure from climate change for expanded civilian nuclear power that could increase proliferation risks."

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Reuters reports that when it was created by the magazine's staff in 1947, it was initially set at seven minutes to midnight and has moved 17 times since then.

The closest was 2 minutes to midnight in 1953, after the United States and Soviet Union tested thermonuclear bombs. The farthest was 17 minutes to midnight in 1991, after the United States and Soviet Union signed an arms-reduction treaty.