The risk that an increasingly ominous asteroid dubbed 2024 YR4 will crash into Earth in seven years now exceeds the the threat once posed by Apophis.

The threat from space rock 2024 YR4 has surpassed that of Apophis, an asteroid feared by scientists 20 years ago. The danger remains low, but experts are estimating the damage that could be done.

The chance that an asteroid capable of wiping out a city will hit Earth in eight years has been cut in half to around 1.5 percent, according to new calculations from NASA.