Doomsday Clock 2015: Global Catastrophe Countdown - Doomsday Clock Now Just 3 Minutes Before Midnight

The Doomsday Clock moved to three minutes before midnight on Thursday due to "unchecked climate change and global nuclear weapons modernization."

"In 2015, unchecked climate change, global nuclear weapons modernizations, and outsized nuclear weapons arsenals pose extraordinary and undeniable threats to the continued existence of humanity, and world leaders have failed to act with the speed or on the scale required to protect citizens from potential catastrophe," said the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board in a press release. "These failures of political leadership endanger every person on Earth."

"In 2015, with the Clock hand moved forward to three minutes to midnight, the board feels compelled to add, with a sense of great urgency: 'The probability of global catastrophe is very high, and the actions needed to reduce the risks of disaster must be taken very soon,'" the Board concluded.

This was the first adjustment made to the clock since 2012 when its minute hand moved by one minute – from six to five minutes before midnight.

The last time the Clock was at three minutes before midnight was in 1983, when "U.S.-Soviet relations were at their iciest."

The Clock has only been adjusted 18 times since its creation in 1947. It ranged from two minutes before midnight in 1953 to 17 minutes before midnight in 1991.

In another development, Pharell Williams and Al Gore recently announced at the World Economic Forum that Live Earth will be held in June, eight years after the last one.

The 24-hour festival, which promotes environmental awareness and voices concerns over climate change, will be participated by 100 artists who are yet to be named, the Rollingstone reported.

The festival aims to collect a billion signatures urging world leaders to adopt a new climate accord at the United Nations climate talks in Paris in December.

Paris will also hold a Live Earth concert, joining Brazil, New York, South Africa, Australia, and China.

Williams, the artist behind the hit song "Happy," will be Live Earth's creative director.

The 2007 Live Earth festival was held in cities like Rio de Janeiro, Washington D.C., Sydney, Tokyo, and Rome and viewed by over 19 million in the United States alone. It also had an online audience of over eight million, according to The Guardian.

Performers such as Madonna, Metallica, Kanye West, the Police, Beastie Boys, and Foo Fighters participated in the event.