Nine countries together possess
more than 16,000 nuclear weapons. The United States and Russia maintain roughly
1,800 of their nuclear weapons on high-alert status – ready to be launched
within minutes of a warning. Most are many times more powerful than the
atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. A single nuclear warhead, if detonated
on a large city, could kill millions of people, with the effects persisting for
decades.
The failure of the nuclear powers
to disarm has heightened the risk that other countries will acquire nuclear
weapons.