Experts and Hiroshima survivors say the world is closer to nuclear arms use than at any time since the Cold War, yet public pressure for disarmament has faded.
Padraig Moran reports for CBC Radio.
In short:
- The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists set its Doomsday Clock to 89 seconds before midnight in January, citing conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East and new artificial intelligence hazards.
- Each of the nine nuclear-armed nations is modernizing weapons; France may cover more of Europe, and South Korea is weighing its own bomb as trust in the U.S. umbrella erodes.
- Analyst Joseph Cirincione and Nobel laureate Setsuko Thurlow warn that without mass protests like those of the 1980s, policymakers may not act until another bomb explodes.
Key quote:
"Most experts believe that the risk of nuclear use is rising, and in some cases rising dramatically."
— Joseph Cirincione, national security analyst
Why this matters:
Eight decades after Hiroshima, nuclear weapons remain the only human-made technology capable of erasing entire cities in seconds. Yet the global stockpile, once shrinking, is again expanding as nations test hypersonic missiles, battlefield warheads, and AI-enabled command systems. An accidental launch or misread cyber alert could unleash firestorms, radiation, and climate-cooling soot that would cripple food supplies worldwide, magnifying famine and disease. At the same time, governments collectively spend more than $80 billion a year on nuclear forces — money diverted from health care, climate adaptation, and basic sanitation. Rising tensions between the United States, Russia, China and regional rivals make these arsenals more likely to be brandished, normalizing the threat for a generation with no memory of mushroom clouds.
Learn more: Nuclear survivors in the Pacific demand global support for weapons ban
