Worrying image with dark backstory could prove how close we are to WW3

A subterranean tunnel where the walls are lined with various pipes, cables and wires, a refuge of steel and stone beneath the ground where work that could destroy the planet is done.

In case you hadn't guessed, this is part of the the nuclear research laboratories which the US likes to keep away from prying eyes.

This is the Principal Underground Laboratory for Subcritical Experimentation, a name perhaps chosen because someone really wanted it to have the acronym PULSE.

Located in the Nevada desert, there's not much of it to look at above ground, but below the surface is a series of tunnels where the testing and maintenance of nuclear weapons is carried out.

A number of media outlets, including NPR, were recently allowed into the facility, which counts among its responsibilities monitoring of the aging stockpile of nuclear weapons possessed by the US.

A Cygnus x-ray diagnostic machine (Nevada National Security Site)

While the world's latest nuclear weapons test was carried out in 2017 by North Korea, planet Earth seems to have become significantly more dangerous in recent times.

Tensions continue to rise over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with peace talks scheduled to be held but concerns over a deal being done without the consent of the Ukrainians, while Russia recently struck the protective dome erected over Chernobyl.

Meanwhile, NPR warns that the US, China and Russia are all taking steps to refresh their nuclear weapons programmes with new or upgraded testing sites where they can be ready to resume testing of nuclear weapons once more.

An open resumption in nuclear testing from the nations with the biggest weapons stockpiles would be a rather concerning development for the planet to say the least.

If you put much stock in the Doomsday Clock then we're getting worryingly close to midnight, a world which is gearing up to test more nuclear weapons would only be adding more fuel to the fire.

The pro-Trump Project 2025 said they wanted the US to 'conduct nuclear tests in response to adversary nuclear developments if necessary', though didn't directly call for a return to nuclear weapons testing.

The US, Russia and China have taken steps to modernise their nuclear weapons facilities, hopefully just so they no longer need to use floppy discs (Nevada National Security Site)

Of course, there are several obstacles if the Americans wanted to do this, not least the US government firing a bunch of people it employs to oversee the American stockpile of nuclear weapons.

The second Trump administration is launching a major cost-cutting effort spearheaded by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, which means a lot of US government employees are losing their jobs.

However, it turns out these people employed to do important jobs were actually doing important jobs, and the BBC reports that the US government is now trying to rehire National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) workers they'd just given the boot.

Attempts to rectify their error have hit a few problems, not least the US government not being able to contact the people they fired to tell them they're now un-fired because the former employees have been locked out of their work email accounts.

There are also other reasons why nations might want to modernise their nuclear facilities as the US infrastructure was still relying on floppy disks to run successfully, which was cutting edge technology back when they were building the facilities in the first place.