In a development that is alarming the international community, a recent report by non-governmental organizations revealed a significant increase in the number of nuclear weapons ready for immediate use worldwide over the past year. This worrying development comes at a time when the global arena is witnessing an unprecedented escalation in armed conflicts and geopolitical tensions.
Global nuclear armament map in numbers
According to a report by the Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Watch, a joint initiative of the Norwegian People's Aid and the Federation of American Scientists, nine countries currently possess nuclear arsenals: the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea. While the total number of nuclear warheads decreased slightly by 144 to 12,187 at the beginning of this year, the real danger lies in the increasing number of nuclear weapons ready for immediate use, which stands at approximately 9,745.
To put this number into perspective, the sum of these weapons represents a destructive force equivalent to 135,000 times the force of the atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945, which killed about 140,000 people, reflecting the scale of the potential disaster in the event of any nuclear conflict.
Historical context and the collapse of arms control treaties
Historically, the world witnessed a frenzied nuclear arms race during the Cold War, prompting the international community to draft treaties to limit nuclear proliferation. However, the current era is witnessing a serious erosion of the disarmament and arms control system. This was clearly demonstrated by the recent expiration of the New START Treaty, the last major arms control agreement between Russia and the United States, which together possess the vast majority of the world's nuclear arsenal.
Updating arsenals and launch systems
The report indicates that 40% of available nuclear warheads (approximately 4,012) are deployed on ballistic missiles at fixed and mobile launch sites, submarines, and strategic bomber bases—an increase of 108 warheads compared to the previous year. In this context, Hans Kristensen, director of the Federation of American Scientists, warned that “the continued annual increase in the number of deployed warheads is a worrying development that increases the risks of rapid escalation, miscalculation, and accidental use of weapons.”.
Expected impact on regional and international security
The proliferation of ready nuclear weapons is not merely a matter of statistics; it has profound implications for global security. Regionally and internationally, these arsenals further complicate ongoing conflicts in sensitive areas such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific, and Asia. The existence of these weapons as a tool for deterrence or intimidation diminishes the prospects for diplomatic solutions and increases the likelihood of conventional conflicts escalating into devastating unconventional warfare, thus jeopardizing international peace and security.
The paradox of international treaties and military spending
On the other side of the spectrum, 99 countries had joined the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by the end of last year. However, none of the nine nuclear-weapon states have joined this treaty. Instead, these countries are investing astronomical sums in modernizing and expanding their arsenals, policies supported by 33 other countries under the “nuclear umbrella” of their allies.
In closing the report, Melissa Park, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, asserted that the claim by some countries that nuclear weapons guarantee their security is false, stressing that “the nuclear umbrella provides no protection from danger, but rather makes the world more dangerous for all of us.”.
