The past weekend wasn’t as stress-free as most, given the nation was reeling from border conflicts with a neighbouring nation threatening nuclear war. War in any form has been ugly throughout the history books, documentaries and written reports, but war turning nuclear is specifically ugly, monstrous, and degrading for the very soul of humanity. Since the Manhattan Project in the USA, scientists, army chiefs, and war generals have all cumulatively shied away from pressing the buttons to launch a nuclear missile. What makes a nuclear war such an irksome event, an unthinkable choice?

Nuclear weapons are not stacks of dynamite piled on a mountain to blow up a bridge, or fighter drones bombing specific areas as convenient. It is personal; it is direct and has such long-lasting effects that even the power institutions that drop them have no idea of the future repercussions of this irreversible decision.

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Loss of Lives

Nuclear war historically has resulted in the loss of millions of lives in a matter of days. It not only results in large-scale destruction of the geographical landscape but also common civilian lives. Once a nuclear weapon has been unleashed, there is no running from it, hiding from it, or overcoming it just by physical attributes. There has been the use of nuclear missiles once in active warfare during the Second World War, when the USA used the weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The effects were devastating, inhumane, and degrading. It is estimated that between 90,000 and 166,000 people died in Hiroshima, while another 60,000 to 80,000 died in Nagasaki within the first few months after the bombings.

Loss of environment

A single nuclear bomb could easily wipe out an entire modern city. The gravest issue with nuclear warfare is that it is both instant and long-lasting. The instant explosion can cause huge ecological disruptions in land, water, and air, resulting in the complete loss of agriculture, farms, and any inhabitable ecosystem. This is an almost permanent effect for the humans residing in the area. Nuclear weapons produce ionising radiation, which kills or sickens those exposed, contaminates the environment, and has long-term health consequences, including cancer and genetic damage. These are irreversible effects. The nuclear failure and eventual fall-out of Chernobyl is a case study of nuclear radiation and the adaptability of nature to it.

Instability of nuclear weapons

Currently, nine countries hold nuclear weapons: Russia, the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea (by size of their nuclear arsenals). The cruellest part of a nuclear attack is the fact that no first responders can neutralise the situation. Firefighters, doctors, and paramedics are as powerless as civilians because of the sheer nature of this war equipment.

How to cope with such dread?

There are two things to remember when thinking of nuclear war. Both of these thoughts are predominantly about stopping a nuclear fallout. “The nuclear war has not started.” “Organisations worldwide are making sure it never starts”. It is this thought that we are not alone in this panic-stricken state of despair that will save all of humanity from a war which has the potential to eradicate half of humanity.

It takes ten seconds for the fireball of the explosion to reach its maximum potential. Organisations like ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) are working relentlessly to stop this explosion. Playing around with weapons and explosives in a video game is fun, holding that much power in a simulated world without any consequences seems alluring. But when it happens in real life, it is not just a game anymore. Nuclear weapons are about you. It is the last step towards a declining moral system of the various sections of society.

Anti-war talks among communities start with one person speaking about it in public spheres. There are debates, conflicts, and loss, but there is also the dreadful thought of what would actually happen if a nuclear war starts. This dread can only be overcome by communities joining and talking about the absolute abolition of nuclear arms, and further nuclear research for war, because deciding the fate of humanity with a push of a button is not the way humans have lived, and would want to live in today’s bustling world. It is completely unethical to use nuclear bombs, no matter what the geopolitical situation is.