T he long silence surrounding nuclear weapons testing is beginning to fade as world powers reopen discussions on resuming the practice. What was once a dark chapter in the history of global security is now reappearing in international politics, raising fears of a return to the dangerous era of nuclear detonations.

The nuclear age began in July 1945, when the United States carried out the first atomic explosion in New Mexico. In the following decades, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were conducted by major powers, including the United States, the Soviet Union, China, France, and the United Kingdom. Many of these tests took place in the atmosphere and underwater, spreading radioactive contamination that affected human health and the environment for years to come.

Global concern about the de

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