Nuclear weapons are decreasing in numbers, but not on their way out

Global nuclear arsenals, 2013. Table by Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris, Federation of American Scientists.

About 125,000 nuclear warheads have been built in the world. Is there a better proof of how little wisdom there is in the running of the world? Today about 17,000 remain. That gives a picture that the nukes are on their way out. Unfortunately not. All nuclear weapon states are modernizing their nukes, spending large sums of money. China, India, Pakistan and possibly Israel are slowly increasing their arsenal. China has now probably more nukes than the UK. More that 90% of the nukes are in the USA or Russia.

Hans M. Kristensen and Robert. S. Norris of the Federation of American Scientists have published this latest data on global nuclear weapons arsenals in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Of the 17,200 about 10,000 are in stockpile. Approximately 4,400 are actively deployed. Of the Russian and American weapons about 1,800 are ready for immediate firing (“High Alert”) by intercontinental missiles.

The warheads in Russia and the USA are likely to decrease in the next few years. But as long as they are retained, the risk remains that they will be used, by accident or unauthorized firing (e.g., by hackers). As long as Russia and the USA maintains these instruments of genocide, other countries will feel that they need them, too.