New Delhi, Feb. 18 -- Scientists have escalated concerns over asteroid 2024 YR4, a sizeable space rock with an increasing likelihood of colliding with Earth in 2032, reported the New York Post.

According to the latest calculations by NASA, the asteroid now has a 2.6 per cent chance of impact-a probability of 1 in 38-marking the highest risk level assigned to it thus far, reported the publication citing a New Scientist report.

First detected in December 2024, YR4 was initially deemed to have a 1-in-83 chance of striking the planet. However, as astronomers gathered more data, those odds worsened, climbing from 1-in-67 to 1-in-53, then 1-in-43, and now the current concerning figure. The European Space Agency's calculations offer a slightly...