• Email Bluesky Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Whatsapp X On 5 February, the planet entered an even more precarious era ofescalating nuclear risks. • The expiration of a strategic-arms reduction agreement,the New START treaty, between the United States and Russia means that a binding, verifiable accord to constrain the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals has been eliminated. • Nuclear-weapons risks are back - and we need to act like it Nuclear-weapons risks are back - and we need to act like it Now, for the first time in more than 50 years, the two pre-eminent nuclear powers are operating without the guardrails that have provided control, stability, predictability and transparency to the global order. • This increases the risk of a resurgent nuclear-arms race and global proliferation. • Equally concerning is the absence of public discussions about therisks posed by nuclear weapons. • The public, scientists and political leaders have remained mostly silent.

Article Summaries:

  • On 5 February the New START treaty between the United States and Russia expired, ending the last binding, verifiable limit on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals. With no treaty guardrails, experts warn of a renewed arms race, heightened proliferation risk, and a lack of public debate on nuclear threats. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists advanced the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight, citing the treaty’s collapse, climate and biological risks, and disruptive technologies. Scientists and policy makers are calling for a one‑year moratorium on exceeding current limits and for renewed diplomatic efforts to modernize nuclear‑security frameworks.

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