The Doomsday Clock has never been this close to midnight than it is now.

It is now 100 seconds to midnight. That was the ominous warning scientists laid out Thursday as the Doomsday Clock, a metaphor for how close humanity is to self-destruction, was moved 20 seconds closer to midnight.

The clock is now the closest its ever been to midnight, indicating humanity is closer to apocalypse than it's been since the clock's creation in 1947.

One of the reasons the clock is now so close to striking midnight is climate change-- and that reason hits close to home for Tampa Bay. Climate change could be a reason the sea levels are on the rise.

Neighbors in St. Pete Beach said they have seen a growing tidal flooding problem, especially this year. Mary Palmer said she sees tidal flooding in her neighborhood once or twice a week and plans her days around high tides.

"The water is right up to the curb and I've had it in my driveway. And then you get the fool that goes by through the water is that deep and they throw it all on your lawn there and it kind of kills the lawn because it doesn't like salt water," Palmer said.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved the clock backward and forward 23 times since its debut to illustrate threats to humanity and the planet.

"In so doing, board members are explicitly warning leaders and citizens around the world that the international security situation is now more dangerous than it has ever been, even at the height of the Cold War," the Bulletin said in a statement.

In 2018, the clock was set at two minutes from midnight, which tied 1953 for the closest it had been in its history.

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