The Thousands of Atomic Bombs Exploded on Earth This post, originally from August 2015, features a visualization created by Orbital Mechanics showing the 2,153 nuclear weapons detonated on Earth since 1945. Key Details According to Wikipedia, there have been 2,119 nuclear tests. The majority of these tests were conducted by: The United States: 1,032 tests The USSR: 727 tests The Largest Bomb: Tsar Bomba The largest nuclear device ever detonated was the Soviet Tsar Bomba, a 50-megaton hydrogen bomb tested in 1961 over the Barents Sea. Its yield was over three times larger than the biggest U.S. nuclear test. Effects of the Tsar Bomba: Fireball reached nearly the altitude of the release plane. Visible from approximately 1,000 km (620 miles) away. Mushroom cloud height: ~64 km (40 miles), above the stratosphere and within the mesosphere. Mushroom cloud width: 95 km (59 miles) at its peak, 40 km (25 miles) at the base. Complete destruction of all buildings in Severny village, 55 km (34 miles) from ground zero. Structural damage (roofs, windows, doors) to buildings hundreds of kilometers away. Thermal pulse felt up to 270 km (170 miles). Heat could cause third-degree burns up to 100 km (62 miles). Shock waves visible 700 km (430 miles) away; windows broken up to 900 km (560 miles). Atmospheric focusing caused blast damage as far as Norway and Finland. Seismic shock detected traveling around the Earth three times. The post highlights the indifferent attitude of the Soviet Union towards the destruction caused, aimed primarily to intimidate the United States during the Cold War. Recent Tests The last nuclear test recorded was by North Korea in 2013. Update (Sept 3, 2025): North Korea has conducted additional tests since this post, with the last in 2017. Additional Information The post includes a video from Vimeo illustrating the spatial distribution of nuclear tests. Tags associated with the post: atomic bomb, Cold War, infoviz, timeless posts, video, war. --- Sidebar & Site Info (Summary) Navigation links to membership, newsletter, goods, archive, and about/contact. Social media and feed options like newsletter, RSS feed, Bluesky, and Mastodon. The site is member-supported, hosted by Arcustech, and earns affiliate commissions through links. Tag icons represent various topics, such as burgers, death, photography, black holes, and more. --- This detailed visualization and context underscore the vast scale of nuclear arms testing throughout history and the significant impact — both physical and geopolitical — that these detonations have had globally.