Hiroshima fosters hope, 81 years on from nuclear catastrophe

Eighty-one years ago on Thursday, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, reducing the city to ruins, killing tens of thousands of people and bringing the world “face to face with the catastrophic power of nuclear war”.It was an act that must never be repeated, said the UN chief for disarmament affairs, at a memorial ceremony in the Japanese city. “Hiroshima stands as an inspiring example of resilience, renewal and hope,” said Izumi Nakamitsu, speaking on behalf of UN Secretary-General António Guterres.“Across generations, its people remind us that, even after the darkest moments, we can choose and build a different future.”Just two days later, a second nuclear bomb targeted Nagasaki on 8 August 1945. The two blasts killed around 120,000 people, with a similar number dying later of burn and radiation injuries, and left behind 650,000 survivors, known as the hibakusha.Nuclear sabre rattlingProviding a snapshot of the current nuclear weapon landscape, she said deepening geopolitical division, rising mistrust and intensifying competition are straining the norms and guardrails that have helped prevent a “nuclear cataclysm”. The decades-long trend in nuclear arsenal reduc...