Nuclear threat
The two nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, atmospheric nuclear testing, and nuclear power accidents have given us a good understanding of the terrible effects of nuclear weapons. Today’s nuclear arsenals are much more powerful, and the risks are higher than ever. Nevertheless, the world has made progress in reducing some risks, thanks to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the work of many organizations and individuals.
Nevertheless, nine nuclear-armed states have around 14,000 warheads. Thousands are kept on hair trigger alert, ready to be launched quickly at the flick of a finger. They can reach their targets within minutes and wreak destruction across entire continents.
A single nuclear weapon would create a zone of total destruction covering miles. Buildings, roads, and communication systems would be reduced to rubble. The death toll would be immense. Hospitals and pharmacies, fire fighting equipment, water purification plants, and other key infrastructure would be destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Emergency services would be overwhelmed, with many of their staff killed or trapped in the rubble. In addition, the radioactive fallout would injure and kill people by external exposure (from ionizing radiation) as well as by inhalation or consumption of toxic chemicals.
Implicit and explicit nuclear threats have long been the basis of deterrence, but they also violate international humanitarian law. The use of nuclear weapons, whether by war or by terrorists, violates the fundamental principles of the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law, including the principle of distinction between military and civilians, the prohibition against indiscriminate attacks, the prohibition on attacks against the natural environment, and the principle of proportionality.
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