See These Times the World Almost Ended

Soviet Union Nuclear False Alarm

Image source: Vox

Another similar incident that could have ended the world occurred on 26th September 1983. There was a glitch in the Soviet warning system that indicated the launch of 5 American IBM missiles. Stanislav Petrov was in charge of the satellite-based missile launch detection system. Petrov had 30 minutes to decide if he should launch retaliation nukes or not. Petrov decided not to follow the protocol and called off the retaliatory nukes, saving the world from a nuclear war that could have killed millions of innocent people.