Madness to wantonly heighten nuclear risk: China Daily editorial

As is known to all, a nuclear war means human annihilation, as a nuclear winter would cause most humans to die in a mass extinction event similar to the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. Given that some 14,000 nuclear weapons are still stockpiled around the world, the international community faces the most pressing task to work together to try to avoid anything that might trigger their use.

Thus it was unhelpful that US President Joe Biden recently evoked that "end-of-the-world" prospect by referring to a nuclear "Armageddon", when veering into talk about the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the end of his standard fundraising remarks in New York on Thursday. Saying that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was "not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons", he added that "We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis."

Biden's remarks were in response to Putin pledging to "use all the means at our disposal" to "protect Russia and our people" last month when he announced plans to conscript Russian men to serve in Ukraine.

Yet Biden's warnings still sound out of place, especially given that US intelligence assessments have so far produced no evidence suggesting Putin has imminent plans for a nuclear strike. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated on Friday that the US has "not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture".

Biden's choice of words seems to be brandishing the use of nuclear weapons, rather than reducing that possibility, which has thus raised eyebrows around the world, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying, "We must speak with prudence when commenting on such matters". Pope Francis also urged the world on Sunday to learn from history the threat of nuclear war and choose the path of peace.

In March, as he wrapped up a speech in Warsaw, Biden seemed to call for the ousting of Putin, saying, "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power." Before Biden could even board Air Force One to begin the flight back to Washington, aides were scrambling to clarify that he wasn't calling for an immediate change in government in Moscow.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that humanity is "just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation".

World leaders should exercise the utmost caution, especially at this time of heightened tensions, and guard against making remarks that raise the odds for the nuclear obliteration of humanity.