A NEW NUCLEAR ARMS-RACE?

On 5th February 2026, the final remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, known as the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), expired. Now, for the first time since the early 1970s, there are no legally binding limits on American and Russian strategic nuclear forces.

- Prakash Nanda

Considering the situation as really grave, “the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists” has moved its metaphorical Doomsday Clock another notch toward “midnight” of worldwide catastrophe. It now sits closer than it ever has: 85 seconds to midnight, the closest the Clock has ever been to midnight in its history.

The Doomsday Clock time is annually determined by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board (SASB) in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes eight Nobel Laureates. Major factors in 2026 included growing nuclear threats, disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), multiple biological security concerns, and the ongoing climate crisis.

The Clock’s time was last changed in January 2025, when the Doomsday Clock was set at 89 seconds to midnight.

Of course, in its statement, DOOMSDAY Clock has talked of many dangerous global developments, but in its list of dangers, “the risks of nuclear war” figure prominently. According to Jon B. Wolfsthal, director of global risk at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and SASB member, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, “In 2025, it was almost impossible to identify a nuclear issue that got better. More states are relying more intently on nuclear weapons, and multiple states are openly talking about using nuclear weapons not only for deterrence but also for coercion. Hundreds of billions are being spent to modernise and expand nuclear arsenals all over the world. More and more nonnuclear states are considering whether they should acquire their own nuclear weapons or are hedging their nuclear bets. Instead of stoking the fires of the nuclear arms competition, nuclear states are reducing their own security and putting the entire planet at risk.