Source: Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

How many nuclear weapons are there in the world and which countries possess them?

Estimates vary between 24,000 and 33,000. These include both strategic and tactical nuclear weapons. More than 95 percent of all nuclear arms are in the arsenals of the United States (10,500) and Russia (13,000). The other countries with nuclear weapons are China (400), France (500), UK (200), India (85), Pakistan (20) and Israel (100). Some other countries, such as Iraq, Iran and North Korea, are thought to be trying to obtain nuclear weapons. For additional information, visit www.nuclearfiles.org.

Most people are not aware of the size and mobility of nuclear weapons. The destructive part of a nuclear weapon is the warhead itself. Terrorists or criminals might try to smuggle a small warhead into a country in a car, truck or ship. Nuclear weapons can also be delivered by means of missiles launched from land, sea or air. They can also be delivered as bombs dropped from airplanes such as occurred at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

An average size nuclear weapon would immediately kill everything within a radius of several square miles. The radiation exposure would continue to injure and kill people over a longer period of time and over a greater area. The area of radiation exposure would depend upon prevailing winds, and could spread across continents and beyond. Nuclear weapons in the arsenals of the major nuclear weapons states today have on average a destructive force equal to 25 to 40 times the power of the weapons that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some nuclear weapons have even greater destructive force.

A nuclear winter, which could kill billions of people, would occur when enough dust and debris entered the atmosphere to block the sunlight over the world. Astronomer Carl Sagan and his scientific colleagues estimated that the detonation of the equivalent in explosive force of some 100 million tons of dynamite (100 megatons) could create a Nuclear Winter. Thus, it would require the detonation of only some 400 nuclear weapons to create a Nuclear Winter.

Yes. It is widely acknowledged that the US and Russia each have about 2,250 nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert, ready to be launched in minutes. Both countries also maintain policies of launch-on-warning, which means that they are prepared to launch their nuclear-armed missiles before the missiles from the other side land on their territory. Keeping nuclear weapons on high alert and using launch-on-warning strategies increase the risks of accidental nuclear war.

Yes. It is required by the terms of the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty. This was confirmed by the World Court decision in 1996 which stated: "There exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control." At the 2000 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, the nuclear weapons states agreed to an "unequivocal undertaking…to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals." Their policies, however, do not yet conform to this obligation.

Right now, China, by US estimates, has only about 20 nuclear-armed missiles capable of reaching US territory, while the US has thousands of nuclear weapons capable of destroying China. In total China has only some 400 nuclear weapons and their nuclear warheads are all separated from the delivery vehicles. China also has a policy of No-First-Use of its nuclear weapons, and has repeatedly stated that it is willing to go to zero nuclear weapons if the other nuclear weapons states will do so. China has stated, however, that it will considerably strengthen its nuclear arsenal if the United States deploys missile defenses that would undermine China's current deterrent force.

Unfortunately, nuclear weapons probably would not deter a terrorist group or rogue state from attacking the US with a nuclear weapon, particularly if they thought their attack could not be traced back to them. It would be unlikely that a nuclear attack by means of a suitcase bomb would be traceable. Such an attack would also not be preventable by missile defenses. The best way to approach this problem is to assure that nuclear weapons do not fall into such hands by inventorying and assuring the control of all nuclear weapons and weapons-grade materials. This will require a high degree of international cooperation, and can only be accomplished by such cooperation. Building a more equitable world will also contribute to creating a safer world.

Admiral Noel Gayler, a former commander-in-chief of the US Pacific has stated, "Does nuclear disarmament imperil our security? No. It enhances it." General Lee Butler, a former commander-in-chief of the US Strategic Command, has stated, "By what authority do succeeding generations of leaders in the nuclear weapons states usurp the power to dictate the odds of continue life on our planet? Most urgently, why does such breathtaking audacity persist at a moment when we should stand trembling in the face of our folly and united in our commitment to abolish its most deadly manifestation?"

No. They will only provide a false sense of security, and actually make us less secure. First, it is questionable whether missile defenses can ever be made effective. Second, missile defenses are easily overcome by building stronger offensive forces or by adding decoys. Third, missile defenses will undermine the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which many experts consider to be the foundation of international stability. Fourth, missile defenses will undermine the progress we have made on nuclear disarmament with the Russians, and will spur both the Russians and the Chinese to increase the size and strength of their nuclear arsenals. Fifth, missile defenses will likely ignite new nuclear arms races across the globe. French president Jacques Chirac has warned that a US missile defense "cannot fail to re-launch an arms race in the world."

The important thing to keep in mind is that we will not go from thousands of nuclear weapons to zero overnight. We should reduce our nuclear arsenal in a series of agreed-upon phases that are set forth in a negotiated Nuclear Weapons Convention. At each stage of nuclear weapon reductions, there should be ways of verifying that all parties are keeping their end of the bargain. As we continue with nuclear disarmament, we will also build confidence and greater trust in the other disarming powers and they will develop greater trust in us.

Many people thought Hiroshima's environment might never recover after the city suffered a nuclear attack. Today Hiroshima has again become a thriving city, but more than 200,000 people there have died as a result of the bombing and many continue to suffer from the radiation effects of the bomb. Only a small portion of plutonium in the bomb was released in the partial detonation that occurred at Hiroshima. This plutonium will continue to cause cancers and leukemia, even in future generations. The survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki may be considered to be Ambassadors of the Nuclear Age. Their powerful message is "Never Again!" They do not want others to suffer their fate or that of their cities.

It is the responsibility of each generation to pass the Earth on intact to the next generation. Ours is the first generation that could fail in this critical task, a task far too important to be left to the world's politicians and military leaders. It demands the involvement of each of us. We need to remember the children of the world, and their children and all generations to follow us.

---

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan international education and advocacy organization. It has consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council and is recognized by the UN as a Peace Messenger Organization.