"Although there were some significant gains in both nuclear arms control and nuclear disarmament in the past year, the risk of nuclear weapons being used seems higher now than at any time since the height of the cold war," SIPRI Director Dan Smith said.
SIPRI estimates suggest that the total number of nuclear weapons slightly declined (by 375 warheads), as of January 2022 against the previous year, with the arsenals still expected to grow in the next decade.
The current decline is mainly attributable to Russia and the United States dismantling retired warheads.
Hans M. Kristensen, an associate senior fellow with SIPRI's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme, further said that there are "clear indications" that the trend for reducing nuclear arsenals after the end of Cold War has ended.
SIPRI also warns about nuclear-armed states increasing or updating their existing arsenals, dubbing it "a very worrying trend."