Nuclear Weapons Essay

                                                                           

                                                                           NUCLEAR WEAPONS

 There are enough (around 13800) nuclear weapons stockpiled by various countries which can destroy the world many times over, though only around 3750 of these are tactically active. that is still too many thought and even 200 high-powered nuclear weapons should be able to blow the entire planet to smithereens. it is now commonly believed that there will be no winners in a nuclear war, because nearly all of humankind could perish. hence that tacit understanding among the nuclear - armed states that a nuclear war should never be fought in the first place.

                  'I know not with what weapons world war3 will be fought , but world war4 will be fought with sticks and stones' said ALBERT EINSTEIN, implying that civilization as we know it could come to an untimely end after a nuclear war. the last USA PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY once warned that 'every man, woman, and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, capable of being cut at any moment. 

                                         DEVASTATING EFFECTS

Since nuclear weapons testing began on July 16, 1945, over 2000 tests have taken place. but less than a month later from this date, two nuclear bombs were detonated over HIROSHIMA and NAGASAKI in Japan, instantly vapourising the two cities and most of their residents. these remain the only nuclear bombs that have been used in combat to date and on civilian population. however , above- ground nuclear testing continued till around 1960 in remote islands and atolls around the world , thought it is only later that their impact on human populations and the marine ecosystems in the respective areas became apparent. 

                 In fact , in the early days of nuclear testing little consideration was given to it devastation effects on human life let alone the dangers of nuclear fallout from atmospheric tests. hindsight and history have shown the terrifying and tragic effects of nuclear weapons testing, especially when controlled conditions are deliberately or unwittingly ignored , in the light of the far more powerful and destructive nuclear weapons that exist today.

                 And it is not only nations who could have access to weapons - terrorist group or even organized crime groups may get hold of and try to use chemical , biological and worse , nuclear weapons as depicted in many Hollywood movies. but it could happen in real life too and would be an unimaginable nightmare.

Nuclear Weapons

                                             MALOR INCIDENTS

                  But nuclear power - in the other sense of the term - that of energy - can also sometimes prove to be dangerous, three major incidents come to mind- Three mile Island (USA,1979), Chernobyl (UKRAINE,1986) and Fukushima (JAPAN,2011). some of these areas are still off-limits after all these years due to radiation fears. right now , concerns have been raised over the safety and fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine , one of the world's largest , as the nearby areas have been hit by shelling in the Russia-Ukraine war.

                   The international atomic energy agency (IAEA) has warned of grave consequences if the facility is hit and called on both sides to let it be made a formal demilitarized zone. however , one has to accept that there are peaceful and legitimate uses of nuclear power and all countries have the right to access such technology. but this should be done under tightly controlled conditions under IAEA supervision.

                   Another perspective on the weapons race is that if the superpowers and other powerful nations cut their defence  spending even by a fraction , there will be enough funds to address most of the problems faced by developing nations. a weapons-free world, especially a nuclear weapon-free world, is thus an ideal ingredient for world peace and harmony.

Nuclear Weapons

  In fact , the biggest reason for cutting down on the nuclear and other weapons is the sheer expenditure on arms.The total world expenditure on major armaments in 2021 was estimated at US$ 2113 billion (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute). just imagine what could be done to build a better world with these enormous resources now spent on Defence. from schooling for all the world's children to better drinking water for around one-third of the world's population , nothing will be out of reach. that is the kind of race we can be  proud of, not a race where everyone on the planet dies in the end.