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Nuclear Warfare’s Past, Present and Future

A glimpse at how nuclear warfare has been a part of our history and how it could transform the future of our planet.

ByDonna Sarkar
Credit: Lightspring/Shutterstock.com

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With fear of nuclear war on the rise amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, it’s hard to overlook our complicated past with nuclear weapons and their potentially disastrous effects on our planet. To no one's surprise, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs has declared nuclear weapons as the most dangerous type of weapon on the planet, with power to take the lives of millions and destroy everything in its path.

Will our planet survive a nuclear crisis? Here’s a look at what happened the last time we resorted to nuclear weapons.

The first time humans resorted to nuclear forces was during the end of World War II. In 1945, the U.S. detonated atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The results shocked the world, with an estimated 70,000 to 135,000 people dead in Hiroshima and 60,000 to 80,000 people killed in Nagasaki. And the fatal effects of ...

  • Donna Sarkar

    Donna has a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Psychology from Marquette University. Her collection of work features deep dives into human psychology as well as the latest health and technology news. Her work has also been published in a variety of newspapers and magazines, including wikiHow, All That's Interesting, Health Digest, and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

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