US And Russia to Test Nuclear Weapons? Revisit the World’s Deadliest Nuclear Hotspots

Last week, before a meeting with China’s Xi Jinping, the US President sparked conversations saying that the US would resume nuclear weapons testing after three decades. He justified his decision by claiming that Russia, China, and Pakistan were about to test nuclear weapons. However, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright later clarified that President Trump didn’t mean full-scale atomic tests. Following the US hints, on November 5, the Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his intent to test their nuclear weapons. He then asked his security council to kickstart the preparations. 

The US testing of weapons will trigger a global chain reaction, and Russia and China could follow its footsteps. The Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov also advised immediate preparations for full-scale nuclear testing at the Central Test Site on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. Did you know about the world’s deadliest nuclear hotspots where nuclear weapons were tested? Let us tell you. 

Where Does the World Test Its Most Dangerous Weapons? 

India’s Pokhran-II test site

India: India carried out its first atomic test in the Army’s Pokharan test range in the Pokharan town of Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district. As the world’s sixth nuclear-armed state, it has tested five more weapons in May 1998.

The United States: The first country to test and use nuclear weapons was the US. They tested their first bomb in White Sands, New Mexico. Other test sites include the Nevada National Security Test Site, Bikini, and Enewetak Atoll test sites in the Marshall Islands.

France: France conducted over 200 tests in the Algerian Sahara and 190 tests in the Mururoa atoll in French Polynesia.

Russia: During the initial years, Russia’s largest test site was at Semipalatinsk. It is now in Kazakhstan and inactive. Hence, the country has begun drilling tunnels in Novaya Zemlya, a remote island near the Arctic Circle, and is transforming it into its test site.

Pakistan: The country conducted five full-scale nuclear tests at the Ras Koh hills in the Chagai district of Balochistan. Initially, the first cold tests took place in Kirana Hills near Islamabad.

China: China conducted its first atomic weapon test in the Lop Nur salt flats in Xinjiang in 1964.

North Korea: The world’s last country to test a nuclear weapon in 2017, tested its arms and ammunition in Punggye-ri, in a remote, mountainous region of the Hermit Kingdom. Six tests were carried out here between 2006 and 2017.

United Kingdom: The country has no test sites on its territory. They have conducted tests in Australia, including the Monte Bello Islands, Emu Field, and Maralinga, as well as in the Pacific, Christmas Island, and Malden Island.