While the coronavirus crisis continues to grip the globe, a potentially far-more deadly disaster looms on the horizon.

Tensions between top nuclear powers have reached an all-time high, with China facing the wrath of US President Donald Trump, who is demanding answers as millions risk dying from the deadly disease.

Fears have grown so much in Beijing that Chinas leaders have warned of a massive international backlash amid claims the country did not sound the alarm early enough to prevent the global pandemic.

Amid the fiery tirades being aimed at the Communist Party from Washington, Chinas leaders are also alleged to have given the green light to carry out a nuclear test last year.

In a US State Department report published on April 15, the nuclear exercises are believed to have happened underground at the Lop Nur test site.

This is despite China having signed up to an international treaty that forbids such tests.

It has sparked fears that new webs of complex alliances could emerge on the horizon as the US flexes its military muscles just as a groundbreaking treaty - designed to curb the number of nukes - is set to expire next year.

If it is not renewed, a fresh arms race could be ignited - with all nuclear superpowers potentially looking to up their arsenals.

Any increase in the world's nuclear warheads would also bolster the chances of life being wiped out on Earth, with the Global Catastrophic Risk Conference in Oxford claiming in 2008 that as many as one billion people could die in such a conflict.

It did, however, put the chances of a full-scale WW3 -like conflict happening by the end of the century as low as 1/100. But, they did warn that smaller-scale nuclear wars between rival nations could be far more likely.

These are some of the power plays that could be made by superpowers, which could end the world as we know it within minutes.

United States

By far the biggest superpower that has pumped the most cash into its military, the US is estimated to have just under half of the worlds estimated 13,000 nuclear weapons.

Its massive arsenal dwarfs all other powers combined with the exception of old Cold War enemy Russia and could be used as leverage against Trumps rivals once the coronavirus crisis comes to an end.

He could even remind China, that the US President always has the nuclear football a briefcase with which to order a nuke strike near him at all times and could launch an attack in less than 60 seconds.

There is hope, however, that Trump can ease the situation with China after he offered the nation to be a part of a new triple arms control treaty.

Unfortunately, there is a snag with the plan, namely China itself.

Arms Control Association (ACA) estimated nuclear weapons: 6,185

China

Leaders in Beijing have been dominating global affairs for the last two decades, with Chinas Communist Party building alliances, expanding its influence and carving out lucrative deals in Africa and Asia.

Beijings bureaucrats will be wanting to hold onto whatever influence they have and there have been allegations made by US National Security advisors that China wants to expand its small number of nuclear warheads to gain a level footing with both Russia and Washington.

It has so far rejected any calls to sign up to a three-way deal with the US and Russia to limit its nukes, claiming its arsenal is too small to be considered a serious threat.

But with the US leading the charge of demanding swift action from China on transparency and other issues once the coronavirus comes to an end, Beijing bosses could feel backed into a corner and up the ante with building even more nukes.

Chinese leaders have insisted in the past they can hold off the US, as long as they have the ability to strike back at a small number of targets presumably US cities.

This would allow it to stop any foreign invasion if it decides to push its claims on Taiwan, which China considers to be a break-away county.

ACA estimated number of warheads: 290

North Korea

The most recent addition to the nuclear powers list, the Hermit Kingdom first acquired the weapons of mass destruction in 2006 as a desperate bid to preserve its existence.

Free to panic about a sudden invasion or foreign-backed coup attempt, North Korea uses its nuclear weapons as a means to get leverage from outside nations.

This tactic was in effect most recently back in 2016, when Pyongyang leaders claimed to have carried out the countrys first hydrogen bomb test.

North Koreas shameless antics continued through into 2017-18, with the communist nation carrying out a series of missile and nuclear tests, which resulted in the US coming very close to engaging in some sort of retaliation according to White House representative Nick Rivero.

But, the North managed to get US President Donald Trump to the negotiation table something that might happen with China in a number of failed denuclearisation meetings between the leader of the free world and Kim Jong-un.

ACA estimated number of warheads: 30

Russia

Russia is the worlds dominant nuclear superpower if judged purely on their arsenal and could form a pact aimed at holding off US influence around the globe.

There are murmurings in Russia that a deal between Moscow and Beijing could lead to both being able to make serious power play moves out from the USs showdown.

Alex Abratov, head of the Centre for International Security at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Moscow said if the US expands its arsenal closer to both China and Russia, that a pact could form between them.

He told the Nikkei Asian Review: If the Americans will commit the stupidity of deploying missiles in East Asia in a way that is threatening to both Russia and China, then our relationship with China will effectively cross a certain line and become a military alliance.

There are even hints that Russian President Vladimir Putin is already adding the biggest beast yet to his nuclear arsenal with hypersonic "Satan-2" officially called RS-28 Sarmat.

ACA estimated number of warheads: 6,490

India

India has held nuclear weapons for decades in a bid to keep its rivals Pakistan at bay as they jostle for power in the region each having claims on the other's lands.

Fortunately, tensions have not spilled over into full-blown conflict for decades with the last full-blown armed war between Pakistan and India ending several decades ago.

But, Hindu nationalist President Narendra Modi has stoked the ire of its rival Pakistan when his government stripped Muslim-majority Kashmir county of its autonomy.

Pakistan was enraged by the move and have started to shoot down Indian drones as tensions flare up along the border.

Shelling also happened along the Pakistan-Indian border, which resulted in at least three people being killed.

This comes after border tensions blighted Kashmir last year, with suicide bombings and armed skirmishes taking place between the two countries.

ACA estimated warheads: 140

Pakistan

Starting following the Bangladesh Liberation War, Pakistans leaders felt outmaneuvered and isolated from the larger powers.

In a fresh move to take control of the situation and avoid being plunged into an unwanted war, Pakistan gave the green light to develop its nuclear weapons and become the first Muslim power in the world to have weapons of mass destruction.

That goal was achieved in the 80s when the country carried out its first successful test.

It is now being held as a last resort should its rivals attempt to carry out a large-scale attack inside its borders.

ACA estimated number of warheads: 160

UK

The UK has held nuclear weapons since the 1950s but has never used them outside test conditions.

Despite that, then-Prime Minister Theresa May said in 2016 that she would give the go-ahead to authorise a nuclear strike if the UK was under threat.

Her comments sparked outrage from opposition MPs over her plans to issue a first strike.

ACA estimated number of warheads: 200

France

Not to be outdone by the Brits, France has more warheads than the UK and is the third-largest nuclear power in the world.

French law demands like the UK that at least one of its four nuclear submarines be on patrol in the Atlantic at any given time.

Since 2006, France has warned it would use nuclear weapons against a state that attacked France using terrorism.

It has also not signed up to the UN treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons.

ACA estimated number of warheads: 300

Israel

The curveball on the list, as Israel has never publicly announced it has nuclear weapons although it is accepted by the international community that they do.

Its weapons were possibly built as a means to preserve the country following a handful of successful defensive wars against its neighbours that preserved the Jewish nation.

The first exposure of Israels nuclear programme happened in 1986, following revelations from Mordechai Vanunu - a former technician formerly employed at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center.

He was soon kidnapped by Mossad and brought back to Israel where he was sentenced to 18 years behind bars for treason and espionage.

ACA estimated number of warheads: 90

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