Today, August 6, humanity faces 77 years after the first time a nuclear weapon was used in a military conflict. The USA detonated an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945 during the Second World War, killing 80,000 people in one shot. Tens of thousands more people later died as a result of radiation exposure.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only time a nuclear weapon was used in war. Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped by the US army over another city of Japan: Nagasaki. Roughly 40,000 people died in this second event. On August 15, during a radio address, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced his country’s surrender from WWII.
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres raises awareness
The threat of a possible nuclear war has been brought into discussion several times after Russia decided to invade Ukraine back in February. Russian President Vladimir Putin himself has threatened with nuclear weapons in a somewhat indirect way.
Plenty of countries across the globe currently have nuclear weapons, including the US, Russia, North Korea, India, and China. It’s clear that under all these circumstances, humanity is not on the right path.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said in a tweet:
In Hiroshima today, I paid tribute to the tens of thousands of people killed by atomic bombs 77 years ago.
We cannot forget the lessons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
We must act in their memory & wipe nuclear weapons off the face of the earth once and for all.
In Hiroshima today, I paid tribute to the tens of thousands of people killed by atomic bombs 77 years ago.
We cannot forget the lessons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
We must act in their memory & wipe nuclear weapons off the face of the earth once and for all. pic.twitter.com/taMQFAjD92
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 6, 2022
He also added in another tweet:
At a time when geopolitical tensions are rising and the nuclear threat is back in focus, Japan’s strong and consistent voice on peace is more important than ever.
Thank you Prime Minister Kishida for welcoming me to Japan.
At a time when geopolitical tensions are rising and the nuclear threat is back in focus, Japan’s strong and consistent voice on peace is more important than ever. pic.twitter.com/qSs9muIMJG
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 6, 2022
Let’s all hope that God will give enough wisdom to all political leaders of the world. It’s clear that nobody can win a nuclear war!