The Rise & Fall of Nuclear Arsenals

Visualization protocol

Timestamp

February 2024

Data Source

Organization: Our World in Data (Link)

Dataset & Metadata

Download Dataset (csv)

Protocol Actions
  1. Load Data:
    The dataset containing global nuclear warhead stockpiles is loaded.
  2. Data Processing:
    Key nuclear powers (USA, Russia) are isolated, while others (UK, France, China, etc.) are aggregated into an "Others" category. A "World" total is also calculated. Data is pivoted and forward-filled to ensure continuity from 1945 to the present.
  3. Visualization Layout:
    An animated line chart is created.
    • X-axis: Year (1945–Present)
    • Y-axis: Number of nuclear warheads
    • Animation: The chart animates year-by-year, revealing the trajectory of stockpiles.
  4. Annotations & Events:
    Specific historical events (e.g., Chornobyl Disaster, USSR Collapse) are annotated with markers and text that appear dynamically as the animation progresses through the timeline.