A Norwegian study revealed that the number of nuclear warheads ready for use around the world increased from 9440 to 9576. The report of the Observatory for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, published by the non-governmental organization Norwegian People’s Aid, indicated that at the beginning of 2023, 9 countries had 9576 nuclear warheads ready for use. .
The report stated that the global arsenal of nuclear weapons available for use by the forces of the nine countries increased, pointing out that by the beginning of 2023, these nuclear-armed countries had a common stockpile of 12512 nuclear warheads.
He added that there are 2,936 warheads out of service and waiting to be dismantled, warning that the remaining 9,576 nuclear warheads are available for use by armies, and have a destructive power equivalent to more than 135,000 bombs like those dropped on Hiroshima.
For his part, Hans Am Christensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists and contributor to the Observatory for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, explained that the total stockpile of atomic weapons, which also includes those that have been withdrawn from service, continues to decline, and fell from 12705 to 12512 in one year due to the destruction of nuclear weapons. Old warheads in Russia and the United States.
He added that Russia, China, India, North Korea and Pakistan expanded their stockpiles of warheads in 2022, resulting in an increase of 136 warheads from the 9,440 available for use in early 2022 to 9,576 in 2023.
Observatory editor Grete Austin warned that this increase is alarming, and it continues a trend that began in 2017, and if it does not stop, we will soon witness an increase in the total number of nuclear weapons in the world, for the first time since the Cold War.
The Observatory reported that the nine nuclear-armed countries (China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) refuse to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and continue to develop, produce and stockpile nuclear weapons.
Okaz (Jeddah) @OKAZ_ONLINE