NORTHAMPTON — As the war in Ukraine rages on and international conflicts along other contested border areas simmer, more than 100 medical journals around the world are calling for the disarmament of nuclear weapons worldwide — an unusual step for publications that pride themselves on publishing exclusive material.

Medical journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, the British Medical Journal and the Journal of the American Medical Association issued an editorial first published Tuesday evening, co-authored by editors of 11 medical and health journals and leaders of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). Among those leaders is Dr. Ira Helfand, a Northampton resident who has served as a past president of IPPNW and as a member of the international steering group for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

The editorial, titled “Reducing the risks of nuclear war — the role of health professionals” calls on health professionals to alert the public and political leaders about the catastrophic effects a nuclear attack could have on the human species.

“Once a nuclear weapon is detonated, escalation to all-out nuclear war could occur rapidly,” the editorial states. “The prevention of any use of nuclear weapons is therefore an urgent public health priority and fundamental steps must be taken to address the root cause of the problem — by abolishing nuclear weapons.”

Helfand said the decision to issue an editorial comes in the wake of the escalation of the Ukraine war. He cited remarks made on Sunday by former Russian president and deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who said his country would have to use nuclear weapons if Ukraine succeeded in its ongoing counteroffensive.

“The conditions there have become extremely dangerous, and we are sitting on the brink of nuclear war,” Helfand said. “Medical journals are fanatical about not printing stuff if it has appeared anywhere else, as most scientific journals are, so this is really extraordinary for them all to get together and publish the same editorial.”

Beyond the Ukraine conflict, however, Helfand expressed concerns about other geopolitical conflicts, such as disputes along the border of India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed states, as well as on the Korean Peninsula, with North Korea possessing nuclear weapons. There is also ongoing tension between China and the United States, with Chinese territorial disputes over Taiwan a possible cause for conflict between nuclear powers.

According to the editorial published in the medical journals, a “limited” nuclear war that involves only 250 nuclear weapons — a small fraction of the total amount in the world — would be enough to kill more than 100 million people outright and cause a global climate disruption and famine that would put 2 billion lives at risk.

“When nuclear weapons are used against cities, they cause enormous firestorms and these huge amounts of smoke up into the upper atmosphere, blocking out the sun and dropping temperatures across the planet,” Helfand said.

Alongside the editorial published across the medical journals, there are efforts across the United States that hope to end the use of nuclear weapons, several of which have ties to the city of Northampton.

Back from the Brink, a grassroots coalition that began in Northampton and since expanded across the country, is one such example. The group is backing a resolution submitted to Congress by U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, whose district includes Northampton, to advocate for the United States to initiate negotiations with other countries to eliminate nuclear weapons.

“We don’t call on the United States to disarm unilaterally,” said Helfand, who is a member of Back from the Brink. “We call on the United States to exercise leadership in bringing together all nuclear-armed states so that we can have universal nuclear disarmament.”

A similar resolution has been introduced in the Massachusetts State House by Sen. Jo Comerford, who also represents Northampton. The city of Northampton, along with nearby Amherst and Easthampton, have already passed resolutions in support of the disarmament campaign.

“As bad as the situation is, it’s not hopeless,” Helfand said. “Nuclear weapons are not a force of nature. This is something we have created and we know how to eliminate these weapons. We just need to take the necessary steps.”

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.

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