Source: United Nations secretary general
Yesterday, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of an independent scientific panel of experts tasked with examining the physical effects and societal consequences of a nuclear war on a local, regional and planetary scale in the days, weeks and decades following a nuclear war.
The panel will study the possible impact of a nuclear war on everything from public health to ecosystems, agriculture, and global socioeconomic systems. The last cross-sectional United Nations study of this kind was undertaken almost four decades ago in 1988.
The establishment of this 21-member Panel, at the behest of a General Assembly resolution, is a response to a global environment in which the risk of nuclear war is higher than at any point since the depths of the Cold War. Nuclear weapons are wielded as tools of coercion, nuclear arsenals are being upgraded. A nuclear arms race is once again a very real possibility. The guardrails against nuclear devastation are being eroded.
The panelists are leaders in their fields, across a range of scientific disciplines, and come from all regions of the world. They will seek input from a wide range of stakeholders, from international and regional organizations to the International Committee of the Red Cross to civil society and affected communities. The Panel will hold its first meeting in September and will submit a final report to the General Assembly in 2027.