The number of nuclear warheads has increased over the past year, pushing the total number of weapons to over 9,600 according to a Japanese think tank, Newsweek reported.
According to a report released Wednesday by the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition at Nagasaki University, 32 additional nuclear warheads capable of deployment were added last year, bringing the known total weapons to 9,615. Nagasaki was the second city bombed by the Americans after the strike on Hiroshima three days prior on Aug. 6, 1945.
Currently, the U.S., Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, Israel, Pakistan, India, and North Korea are known to have nuclear weapons.
The report from the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition comes the same week the U.S. and Iran are locked in tense negotiations regarding the future of Iran's uranium enrichment program. On Wednesday, it was reported that Iran is open to having a regional uranium enrichment consortium as part of a proposed deal with the United States so long as the association remains with its borders.
Russia currently has the largest number of deployable warheads at 4,310, a decrease of .8% from 2018, while the U.S. now possesses 3,700, a decrease of 2.6%. China increased its number of nuclear warheads to 600, or a 150% gain.
The U.S and Russia account for more than 80% of the world's nuclear weapons. When including nondeployable weapons, those that are waiting to be dissambled or retired, the number is 12,340 warheads.
The increase in the number of weapons isn't the only nuclear concern the world faces. In April, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned Western allies that Russia is looking to deploy nuclear weapons in space in a move that could potentially threaten global security and communication.
"The world's gotten more dangerous and it’s happening fast," said Hans Kristensen, director of the Federation of American Scientists Nuclear Information Project.
"Today, the danger is that we get into these interactions where nuclear weapons are playing a bigger and bigger role. And there are more countries who have nuclear weapons, and more countries in the future will choose to get nuclear weapons. And so the pathways to the potential use of nuclear weapons have increased more than the number of nuclear weapons."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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