Think Tank Issues Dire Warning About World's Nukes

A Swedish think tank that keeps tabs on nuclear weapons around the world issued quite a statement Monday to describe the state of things: "We are drifting into one of the most dangerous periods in human history," said Dan Smith of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, per the Guardian. The assessment comes as the group's latest assessment found that the number of operational nuclear warheads ticked up again in 2022.

• SIPRI counts 9,576 in military stockpiles ready for use in various countries, which is up 86 from the previous year, per Reuters.
• The new 86 belong to China (60), Russia (12), Pakistan (five), North Korea (five), and India (four). The group acknowledges this is a best guess given that China has never disclosed its numbers. SIPRI estimates China now has 410 in all.

• Nuclear-armed states are listed as the US, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel. The US and Russia account for 90% of the world's total, according to SIPRI. Counting warheads that have been retired and are awaiting dismantlement, the world total is 12,512.
• The group said diplomacy over nuclear arsenals has taken a hit since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in particular. "It is imperative that the world’s governments find ways to cooperate in order to calm geopolitical tensions, slow arms races and deal with the worsening consequences of environmental breakdown and rising world hunger," said Smith.

(More nuclear weapons stories.)