A 46-cent microchip almost began Armageddon – as did a Doomsday coaching tape when it was by chance fed into reside warning methods
It may solely be a matter of time earlier than the world’s luck runs out. (Picture: Getty)
Nuclear apocalypse has solely been a button-push away on a number of situations because the inception of the atomic age, however just a few occasions was it as a consequence of a struggle.
Human error, defective expertise and paranoia have led to many close to misses since World Battle Two, ridiculing the idea of mutually assured destruction safeguarding the world. And simply how shut we got here has usually solely been revealed years after the occasion.
Whether or not it was Vasili Arkhipov’s disagreement in a stifling submarine or Stanislav Petrov’s instinct in opposition to a glowing laptop display, the ‘fail-safes’ have failed extra regularly than you’d think about. The survival of recent civilisation has usually hinged on the choices of single people and the mercy of a malfunctioning laptop.
These incidents function a reminder that so long as these weapons exist, our existence shouldn’t be assured. The transition from the Chilly Battle to a multipolar world has solely added layers of complexity to this hair-trigger actuality.
In the end, these 11 tales act as a warning that, within the nuclear age, it may solely be a matter of time earlier than the world’s luck runs out…
1999 and 2001–02: India–Pakistan standoffs
Following Kargil in 1999 and the Parliament assault in 2001, South Asia twice stood on the brink. Missiles have been repositioned. Leaders exchanged nuclear threats. Diplomacy, stress and restraint drew either side again – however solely narrowly.
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