Nobel Laureates Warned that Nuclear War “Could End Civilization in an Afternoon” while Calling for its Prevention

In recent months the world has been moving closer to the possibility of a nuclear weapon attack or an exchange of nuclear weapons. This writer has been regularly warning about this most serious of all risks. In these writings when I frequently warned regarding the possibility of most life on earth being destroyed within a few days, some friends suggested that perhaps I am overstating the threat. However, in the course of my ongoing research I yesterday came across a statement made last year by Nobel Laureates in which they stated that nuclear war can end civilization in an afternoon!

This statement was made by the Nobel Laureate Assembly for the Prevention of Nuclear War, a three-day gathering in Chicago of about 20 Nobel Laureates and about 60 leading nuclear experts in July 2025. As, in the following year, the threat of nuclear attack and war has increased considerably and, hence, the need for preventive steps has also increased, it is very useful to look at what these Nobel Laureates and eminent experts stated and recommended on this very important issue.

The statement released after their 3-day consultation stated, “In this 80th year of the nuclear age, the world finds itself at a reckoning point. Distrust and discord mark the international discourse, and the volume of challenges facing the global community is overwhelming. But there is only one challenge that could end civilization in an afternoon…Despite having avoided nuclear catastrophes in the past, time and the law of probability are not on our side. Without clear and sustained efforts from world leaders to prevent nuclear war, there can be no doubt that our luck will finally run out. While the only way to truly eliminate the risks of nuclear war is to eliminate nuclear weapons, there are important, timely steps that can support the longer-term effort to achieve nuclear disarmament.” In this context, these laureates and experts recommended:

“We call on all states to reiterate their commitment to a moratorium on nuclear explosive testing and do what is necessary to secure the prompt entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

“We call on Russia and the United States to immediately enter into negotiations on a successor to the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction TreatyNew STARTA bilateral arms control treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms., remain committed to the treaty’s central limits in the meantime, and expand dialogue to address their full nuclear arsenals. We call on China to immediately enter into substantive and sustained discussions on their rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal. All nuclear-weapon states must engage in nuclear discussions without preconditions or preconceived notions of outcomes. We further call on all states and their leaders to engage in bilateral and multilateral dialogues on nuclear risk reduction.”

“We call on all states to engage in increased cooperative dialogue on the scientific, legal, and military implications of AI technologies. Acknowledging the fallibility of AI, We call on all nuclear-armed states to ensure meaningful and enhanced human control and oversight over nuclear command and control, and increase decision-making timelines for determining the reliability of information received and the prudence of any decision on whether to use military force.

“We call on all nuclear-armed states to institute the “two-person ruleDual Control ProtocolA security protocol designed to prevent accidental or unauthorized use of nuclear weapons by requiring the presence and cooperation of at least two authorized individuals for any critical action.” that ensures at least two individuals are involved in any decision about the use of nuclear force.

“We call on China, Russia, and the United States to acknowledge the interrelationship between strategic offensive and defensive arms and forgo massive investments in strategic missile defense.

“We call on all nations to reaffirm the principles and obligations of the Outer Space TreatyTreaty on Outer SpaceA foundational international treaty that governs the activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space, including prohibiting the placement of weapons of mass destruction in orbit. and work to update this pivotal agreement to account for new and evolving technologies.

“We call on all nuclear armed states to expand secure communications lines between and among them and increase the number and frequency of multilateral dialogues on tools and mechanisms for crisis prevention and management.

“We call on every nation to publicly recommit to all non-proliferationNuclear Non-ProliferationThe effort to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and related technology, aiming to limit the number of states possessing nuclear weapons. and disarmament objectives and obligations in the treaty and reject and condemn proliferation by any state, including allies. We further call on all states to enhance and expand political and substantive support for multilateral nuclear diplomacy and the institutions that uphold it.

“We call on all states to increase investments and cooperative research on the environmental, social, military, and economic impacts of nuclear conflict, including limited or regional scenarios, and to support the upcoming UN Independent Scientific Panel on Nuclear War Effects.

“we call on scientists, academics, civil society, and communities of faith to help create the necessary pressure on global leaders to implement nuclear risk reduction measures.”

Now if we compare the reality of the last year with what these Nobel Laureates and prominent nuclear weapon and policy experts had recommended, then it appears that in the context of this most important of all issues for the safety and in fact the survival of humanity and most life on earth, it appears that humanity has been walking in the opposite direction of what is needed. There is increasingly dangerous use of AI in weapons and wars. Chances of elimination of nuclear weapons are not even being discussed sincerely and instead it is the chances of more countries likely to acquire nuclear weapons that are more the discussion point, as also the possibilities of the nuclear weapon countries deploying their weapons in more countries under security agreements. Nuclear disarmament treaties continue to be in retreat.

The risks of actual use of nuclear weapons have increased in the context of particularly the Ukraine-Russia war in which Ukraine has been receiving increasing technology, weapon and targeting assistance from western countries to hit the Russian mainland. There is no precedence of the country with the highest number of nuclear weapons being attacked with such continuity and persistence. This never happened during the Cold War years. Hence the warnings as well as the recommendations of the eminent experts quoted above have become even more relevant and significant now.