Peace researchers: Worldwide nuclear weapons could rise again soon

According to peace researchers, the number of nuclear weapons in the world, which has been declining for decades, could soon rise again for the first time. The global nuclear arsenals are modernized, existing weapons are retrofitted and newer versions added to them, the Stockholm Peace Research Institute Sipri writes in its new annual report. The independent institute warned a dangerous new nuclear arms race.

“The era of reducing the global number of nuclear weapons that has lasted since the end of the Cold War comes to an end,” said Sipri expert Hans Kristensen. “Instead, we observe a clear trend towards growing nuclear arsenals, stricter nuclear rhetoric and the termination of arms control agreements,” he warned.

The worldwide existence of nuclear weapons has decreased significantly and continuously since the Cold War. However, this is mainly due to the fact that Russia and the United States gradually dismantled explosive heads. In contrast, Sipri has been watching an increase in the number of operational nuclear weapons for a long time.

The nine current nuclear weapons states of Russia, USA, Great Britain, France, China, India, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel, according to Sipri estimates in January 2025, had 12,241 nuclear war heads. According to the information, around 9,614 of this were for potential use in military stocks.

An estimated 3,912 of the explosive heads were therefore already placed on rockets or on active bases, around 2,100 of which were kept in high operational.