Hiroshima And Nagasaki Remind Us Of The Horror Of Nuclear War

We must wake up to the real danger of a nuclear war.

Hiroshima Day commemorates the US atom bombing of the Japanese city 77 years ago, which killed almost 150,000 people.

A further 80,000 were killed three days later when the US dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki. But this year’s events must be more than a commemoration — they should sound the alarm.

Wrecked framework of the Museum of Science and Industry in Hiroshima, Japan. This is how it appeared shortly after the dropping of the first atomic bomb, on August 6, 1945.

To date, the two US bombings are the only times nuclear weapons have ever been used. But the risk of a repeat has seldom been closer than it is today.

Confrontation between the world’s greatest military powers is at boiling point. In Ukraine, invading Russian troops are in direct combat with armed forces equipped and trained by Nato; US and British-supplied rockets are fired on Russian forces.

This weekend, Chinese military drills involving hypersonic missile strikes, simulated naval blockades and stealth bombers are being held in response to a crass stunt by US Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose Taiwan visit was apparently designed to provoke such a response.