NGO warns World War III could kill over 500 million, urges diplomacy in Middle East

2026-03-18 - 00:54

By Demola Akinyemi Ilorin — The non-governmental organization Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has warned that a potential World War III could claim more than 500 million lives, citing the unprecedented destructive capacity of modern nuclear weapons and historical escalation patterns in warfare. PeacePro issued the warning in its strategic report, “Global Escalation of Warfare and Projected Human Cost of a Potential World War III,” made available by Executive Director Abdulrazaq Hamzat. The NGO emphasized that growing tensions in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel, and Iran risk expanding into a broader regional or global conflict. “Humanity has already witnessed the devastation of two world wars,” Hamzat said. “But in the nuclear age, a third global war could become a civilization-level catastrophe.” The report highlights the rising human cost of global wars: World War I (1914–1918) caused 10–20 million deaths, while World War II (1939–1945) claimed an estimated 50–70 million, representing a 400–500 percent increase. PeacePro warned that advances in military technology, particularly nuclear capabilities, could make a future war exponentially more deadly. Modern nuclear warheads, the report notes, are hundreds to thousands of times more powerful than the atomic bombs used in 1945, with missile systems capable of delivering multiple warheads to several cities simultaneously. PeacePro stressed that a large-scale nuclear exchange could devastate entire regions within minutes. The NGO urged global leaders to prioritize diplomacy, strengthen arms control agreements, and reduce geopolitical tensions. The report also cautioned that expanding conflict in the Middle East could threaten critical energy infrastructure and strategic shipping routes, such as the Strait of Hormuz, potentially causing severe global economic and security consequences. PeacePro estimates that casualties from a potential global war would stem from direct military attacks, nuclear detonations, radiation exposure, collapse of food and energy systems, economic disruption, mass displacement, and humanitarian crises. The organization also highlighted the risk of nuclear winter, which could devastate global agriculture and further magnify the human toll. “Preventing a global war must remain one of the highest priorities of the international community,” Hamzat concluded.