The warning also comes in the backdrop of Doomsday Clock moving one second closer to midnight last month.
- Introduced in 1947 by Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Doomsday Clock is a symbolic representation of how close humanity is to self-destruction.
Current risks posed due to Nuclear Weapons
- Heightened Global Security Concerns: Geopolitical tensions, decrease in trust between nations, high military spendings increase the likelihood of nuclear conflict.
- Erosion of Disarmament Frameworks: Key treaties and norms against nuclear testing and proliferation are being undermined.
- Nuclear Blackmail: The threat of nuclear use to coerce opponents heightens global instability.
- Expansion of inventories: Countries are increasing their nuclear weapon inventories and new forms of arms races have emerged: E.g. in outer space
- Weaponization of Artificial Intelligence: It can reduce human control, raising the risk of unintended launches.
Non-Proliferation efforts
- Conference on Disarmament: Its agenda includes nuclear disarmament, preventing an arms race in outer space, and addressing new weapons of mass destruction.
- Treaty on the Non-Proliferation(NPT): It aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to foster the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT): It bans all nuclear explosions, whether for military or peaceful purposes.
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): It serves as the world’s foremost intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy
