From Pokhran to Xinjiang… how many nuclear tests have been done worldwide? Eight countries have conducted tests including…

US President Doland Trump has shocked the world by announcing another nuclear bomb test. There’s no doubt that countries like China, North Korea, and Russia are secretly conducting nuclear tests. Trump’s announcement has raised the pulse in Beijing, Pyongyang, and Moscow. Just days later, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed his Security Council to prepare for a nuclear test.

Experts believe that if the US does indeed begin nuclear testing, Russia and China could follow suit, sparking a new global nuclear race. Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov stated on November 5 that preparations for testing are nearly complete at Russia’s central nuclear test site on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. He added that nuclear tests are possible there within a short time. This is the same site where, in 1961, the Soviet Union tested its largest nuclear bomb ever, the Tsar Bomba, with a yield of 50 megatons.

To date, nine countries in the world possess nuclear weapons, and only Israel has never acknowledged that it has conducted a nuclear test. But everyone in the world believes that Israel possesses a nuclear bomb. Besides Israel, the other eight countries — the United States, Russia, China, France, India(BHARAT), Pakistan, North Korea, and Britain — have conducted a combined total of more than 2,000 nuclear tests. More than 80% of these were conducted by the United States and the Soviet Union between 1945 and 1992, during the Cold War. This raises the question: how is a site selected for nuclear testing?

According to a report, choosing a nuclear test site is not easy. A nuclear test site is selected based on factors such as geological stability, hydrology, and buffer zones. Sandeep notes that the test site should be located in an area with low seismic activity, solid and dry rocks to prevent radioactive gas from escaping, and, most importantly, free of human settlements. For example, in India(BHARAT)’s Pokhran test area, the water level is more than 500 meters below ground, eliminating the risk of radioactive contamination spreading into the water.

The United States was the first country to test and utilise nuclear weapons. It tested its first bomb in White Sands, New Mexico. The Nevada National Security Test Site is located in the US state of Nevada. Bikini and Enewetak Atoll in the US Marshall Islands are also test sites. The United States has not tested any weapons since 1992, and all of its sites are inactive or closed. Of course, the United States could reopen some of these sites to resume testing.

Russia: Russia’s main testing site was Semipalatinsk, now in Kazakhstan. Russia is now building new tunnels on Novaya Zemlya Island. If Russia plans to resume nuclear testing, it will conduct its weapons testing here. This is the same island where the Soviet Union tested the world’s largest nuclear bomb, the 50-megaton Tsar Bomba, in 1961.

China: China tested its first nuclear weapon in Lop Nur, Xinjiang, in 1964. It conducted numerous nuclear tests there until 1996. This area was chosen because of its isolation and desolation. It covers approximately 100,000 square kilometers.

North Korea: North Korea was the last country in the world to conduct a nuclear test in 2017. Its nuclear test site is Punggye-ri, located in a remote mountainous region of the Hermit Kingdom. North Korea conducted six nuclear tests there between 2006 and 2017. In May 2018, Pyongyang announced that it was shutting down the facility. The tunnels were destroyed in a ceremony attended by international journalists.

France: France has tested its nuclear weapons in its overseas colonies, such as in the Algerian Sahara, where it conducted more than 200 nuclear tests, and in French Polynesia’s Mururoa Atoll, where it conducted more than 190 nuclear tests in 1996.

India(BHARAT): India(BHARAT) conducted its first nuclear test in Pokhran, Rajasthan, in 1974 and followed it up with five more successful nuclear tests in 1998, declaring itself the world’s sixth nuclear power. India(BHARAT) subsequently announced a voluntary moratorium on further tests.

Pakistan: Pakistan conducted five nuclear tests in 1998 in the Chagai Mountains of Balochistan, known as “Chagai-I” and “Chagai-II.” This made Pakistan the seventh country in the world to possess a nuclear bomb.

Britain: Britain conducted its tests at Mount Bello Island, Emu Field, and Maralinga in Australia, and later used a Nevada site in the United States to test its nuclear bomb. Today, Britain’s nuclear weapons are based on American designs, so their testing is also dependent on the United States. It is said that Britain cannot use its nuclear bombs or deploy them in any other country without American consent.