How many died because of the atomic bomb

It is estimated that around , of Hiroshima's population of , were killed in the bombing, and it is estimated that around 74, people died in Nagasaki. In Hiroshima, on August 6, around 80, people were killed immediately when the bomb was dropped. In Nagasaki, on August 9, around 40, people were killed instantly.

Tens of thousands of others died in the aftermath, of radiation poisoning and their injuries. However, due to the massive destruction of the cities, the recorded death tolls are estimates, with other studies saying 66, people died in the Hiroshima bombing and that 39, people died in the Nagasaki bombing. Many victims died years later, as a result of cancer and other illnesses linked to radiation poisoning caused by the bombings. A study found that around an additional 62, people in Hiroshima had died as a result of the bomb, bringing the total number of victims to more than , The largest share of victims of nuclear weapons after Hiroshima and Nagasaki no doubt results from the explosive testing of such weapons.

Between and , some 2, nuclear weapons were detonated , including in the atmosphere, above or under water, with a yield or destructive power of over megatons, i.

In the United States, which conducted almost half of all nuclear tests, a study estimated that fallout from nuclear testing contributed between , to , excess deaths from and This study used new available data that corrected a previous one by the Center for Disease Control estimating in the number of excess deaths to 11,, mostly caused by thyroid cancer. Unfortunately, there are no independent statistics on casualties resulting from nuclear testing by other nuclear-armed countries, including tests conducted in other locations such as Algeria or French Polynesia by France, Australia by Britain, Greenland by the United States, Kazakhstan by the Soviet Union, or Pacific islands by Britain and the United States.

Some partial studies however give an idea of the impact of such tests. For instance, recently declassified documents show that some of the tests carried out by France in Algeria led to radioactive contamination up to Southern Europe and down to Sub-Saharan Africa. In Kazakhstan , while Kazakh health authorities estimate that up to 1. From to , the United States detonated on the Marshall Islands some 67 nuclear bombs, the equivalent of over 1.

Today, the 90, cubic metres of nuclear waste left on the archipelago, affected by sea level rise, threatens to cause major contamination. At a time when the American president is considering whether to resume the first nuclear testing explosions since , it is worth mulling about an old principle: when a substance is impossible to control and leads to an unacceptable risk, the only safe and logical choice is to prohibit and eliminate it from any use whether civil or military.

Some of the latter were conscripted laborers. A few foreign students from China and Southeast Asia and U. The exact number of deaths from the atomic bombing is still unknown. Estimates place the number of dead by the end of December , when the acute effects of radiation poisoning had largely subsided, at roughly ,