War has become absolutely real. Scientists have studied in detail the possible consequences of more powerful explosions: how radiation will spread, what biological damage there will be, and climatic effects.
Nuclear war - how it happens
A nuclear explosion is a huge fireball that completely burns or chars objects of living and inanimate nature, even at a great distance from the epicenter. A third of the explosion's energy is released as a pulse of light that is thousands of times brighter than the sun. This causes all flammable materials such as paper and fabric to catch fire. People get third degree burns.
Primary fires do not have time to flare up - they are partially extinguished by a powerful air blast wave. But due to flying sparks and burning debris, short circuits, household gas explosions, and burning petroleum products, long and extensive secondary fires are formed.
Many separate fires combine into a deadly fire that can destroy any metropolis. Similar firestorms destroyed Hamburg and Dresden during World War II.
In the center of such a tornado there is an intense release of heat, due to which huge masses of air rise upward, hurricanes are formed at the surface of the earth, which support the fiery element with new portions of oxygen. Smoke, dust and soot rise to the stratosphere, forming a cloud that almost completely blocks out the sunlight. As a result, a deadly nuclear winter begins.
Nuclear war leads to long nuclear winter
Due to giant fires, a huge amount of aerosol will be released into the atmosphere, which will cause a “nuclear night”. According to calculations, even a small local nuclear war and the explosions of London and New York will lead to a complete absence of sunlight above for several weeks.
For the first time, Paul Crutzen, a prominent German scientist, pointed out the devastating consequences of massive fires, which will provoke a further cascade of irreversible changes in the climate and biosphere.
The fact that nuclear war inevitably leads to nuclear winter was not yet known in the middle of the last century. Tests with nuclear explosions were carried out single and isolated. And even a “soft” nuclear conflict involves explosions in many cities. In addition, the tests were carried out in such a way that no large fires were caused. And only not so long ago, with the joint work of biologists, mathematicians, climatologists, and physicists, it was possible to put together a general picture of the consequences of a nuclear conflict. explored in detail what the world might be like after nuclear war.
If only 1% of the nuclear weapons produced to date are used in the conflict, the effect will be equal to 8200 “Nagasaki and Hiroshima”.
Even in this case, a nuclear war will entail the climatic effect of a nuclear winter. Due to the fact that the sun's rays will not be able to reach the Earth, there will be a prolonged cooling of the air. All Live nature, which is not destroyed in fires, will be doomed to freeze out.
Significant temperature contrasts will arise between land and ocean, since large accumulations of water have significant thermal inertia, so the air there will cool much more slowly. Changes in the atmosphere will suppress and severe droughts will begin on the continents, immersed in the night and shackled by absolute cold.
If a nuclear war occurred in the summer in the Northern Hemisphere, then within two weeks the temperature there would drop below zero, and sunlight would disappear completely. At the same time, in the Northern Hemisphere all vegetation would have died completely, and on Southern Hemisphere- partially. The tropics and subtropics would die out almost instantly, since the flora there can exist in a very narrow temperature range and certain illumination.
Lack of food will lead to birds having virtually no chance of survival. Only reptiles can survive.
Dead forests that form over vast areas will become material for new fires, and the decomposition of dead flora and fauna will cause the release of huge quantities into the atmosphere. carbon dioxide. Thus, global carbon content and metabolism will be disrupted. The loss of vegetation will cause global soil erosion.
There will be an almost complete destruction of the ecosystems that currently exist on the planet. All agricultural plants and animals will die, although seeds may survive. A sharp increase in ionizing radiation will cause severe radiation sickness and lead to the death of vegetation, mammals and birds.
Emissions of nitrogen and sulfur oxides into the atmosphere will cause harmful acid rain.
Any one of the above factors would be enough to destroy many ecosystems. The worst thing is that after a nuclear war they will all begin to act together, feeding and strengthening each other’s action.
To pass the critical point, after which catastrophic changes in the climate and biosphere of the Earth begin, a relatively small nuclear explosion - 100 Mt - will be enough. To cause an irreparable disaster, it will be enough to activate just 1% of the existing arsenal of nuclear weapons.
Even those countries on whose territory not a single nuclear bomb will explode will be completely destroyed.
Nuclear war in any form represents a real threat to the existence of humanity and life on the planet in general.
The Cold War ended more than two decades ago, and many people have never lived under the threat of nuclear annihilation. However, nuclear attack is a very real threat. Global politics are far from stable and human nature has not changed at all last years, not in the last two decades. “The most constant sound in the history of mankind is the sound of the drums of war.” As long as nuclear weapons exist, there is always the danger of their use.
Is it really possible to survive after a nuclear war? There are only forecasts: some say “yes”, others say “no”. Keep in mind that modern thermonuclear weapons are numerous and several thousand times more powerful than the bombs dropped on Japan. We really don't fully understand what will happen when thousands of these munitions explode at the same time. For some, especially those living in densely populated areas, trying to survive may seem completely futile. However, if a person survives, it will be someone who is morally and logistically prepared for such an event and lives in a very remote area of no strategic importance.
Steps
Preliminary preparation
- White rice
- Wheat
- Beans
- Sugar
- Pasta
- Powdered milk
- Dried fruits and vegetables
- Build up your supply gradually. Every time you go to the grocery store, buy one or two items for your dry rations. You'll end up stocking up for several months.
- Make sure you have a can opener for opening cans.
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You must have a supply of water. Water can be stored in food-grade plastic containers. Clean them with a bleach solution and then fill them with filtered and distilled water.
- Your goal is to have 4 liters per person per day.
- To purify water in the event of an attack, keep regular chlorine bleach and potassium iodide (Lugol's solution) on hand.
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You must have means of communication. Staying informed, as well as being able to alert others to your location, can be vital. Here's what you might need:
- Radio. Try to find one that is crank operated or solar powered. If you have a radio with batteries, don't forget to have spares. If possible, tune into a radio station that broadcasts weather forecasts and emergency information 24 hours a day.
- Whistle. You can use it to call for help.
- Mobile phone. It's unknown whether cell service will work, but if it does, you should be prepared. If possible, find a solar charger for your phone model.
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Stock up on medications. Having the necessary medications and the ability to administer first aid is a matter of life and death if you are injured in an attack. You will need:
Prepare other items. Add the following to your survival kit:
- Flashlight and batteries
- Respirators
- Plastic film and adhesive tape
- Garbage bags, plastic ties and wet wipes for personal hygiene
- Wrench and pliers to turn off gas and water.
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Follow the news. A nuclear attack is unlikely to happen out of the blue. It will most likely be preceded by a sharp deterioration in the political situation. If a conventional war breaks out between countries that have nuclear weapons and does not end quickly, it could escalate into a nuclear war. Even isolated nuclear strikes in one region can escalate into an all-out nuclear conflict. Many countries have rating system to indicate the imminence of an attack. In the USA and Canada, for example, it is called DEFCON.
Assess the risk and consider evacuation if a nuclear exchange looks likely. If evacuation is not an option, then you should at least build a shelter for yourself. Rate your proximity to the following targets
- Airfields and naval bases, especially those housing nuclear bombers, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, or bunkers. These places for sure would be attacked even with a limited exchange of nuclear strikes.
- Commercial ports and airstrips over 3 km long. These places, probably for sure
- Government buildings. These places, probably, would be attacked even with a limited exchange of nuclear strikes and for sure would be attacked in an all-out nuclear war.
- Large industrial cities and most populated regions. These places, probably, would be attacked in the event of an all-out nuclear war.
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Learn about the different types of nuclear weapons:
- Atomic bombs are the main types of nuclear weapons and are included in other classes of weapons. Power atomic bomb is caused by the fission of heavy nuclei (plutonium and uranium) when they are irradiated with neutrons. When each atom splits, it releases a large number of energy and even more neutrons. This results in an extremely fast chain nuclear reaction. Atomic bombs are the only type of nuclear bomb still used in warfare today. If terrorists are able to capture and use a nuclear weapon, it will most likely be an atomic bomb.
- Hydrogen bombs use the ultra-high temperature of an atomic charge as a "spark plug". Under the influence of temperature and strong pressure, deuterium and tritium are formed. Their nuclei interact, and as a result there is a huge release of energy - thermonuclear explosion. Hydrogen bombs are also known as thermonuclear weapons because the deuterium and tritium nuclei require high temperatures to interact. Such weapons are usually many hundreds of times stronger than the bombs that destroyed Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Most of The American and Russian strategic arsenals are just such bombs.
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Make a plan. If a nuclear attack occurs, you will not be able to go outside, as it will be dangerous. You should remain protected for at least 48 hours, but preferably longer. With food and medicine on hand, you can at least temporarily not worry about them and focus on other aspects of survival.
Stock up on foods that are not perishable. These foods can last for several years, so they should be available to help you tide over an attack. Choose foods that are high in carbohydrates so you can get more calories for less money. They should be stored in a cool, dry place:
When the bombs fall, the face of the planet will change forever. For 50 years this fear has not left people. All it takes is one person to press a button and a nuclear apocalypse will break out. Today we don’t worry so much anymore. Soviet Union collapsed, the bipolar world too, the idea of mass destruction turned into a cinematic cliche. However, the threat will never go away forever. The bombs are still waiting for someone to press the button. And there will always be new enemies. Scientists must conduct tests and build models to understand what will happen to life after the explosion of this bomb. Some people will survive. But life in the smoldering remains of the destroyed world will change completely.
It's going to rain black
Shortly after the atomic bomb explodes, there will be a heavy black rain. These will not be small droplets clearing away dust and ash. These will be dense black globules that look like butter and can kill you.
In Hiroshima, black rain began 20 minutes after the bomb exploded. It covered an area of about 20 kilometers around the epicenter, covering the area with a thick liquid that could bathe the unfortunate in radiation 100 times greater than that at the center of the explosion.
The city around the survivors burned and took away their last oxygen. The thirst was unbearable. Trying to fight the fire, desperate people even tried to drink the strange water falling from the sky. But there was enough radiation in this liquid to trigger irreversible changes in a person’s blood. It was strong enough that the effects of the rain continue to this day in the places where it fell. If another atomic bomb goes off, we have every reason to believe that the same thing will happen.
Electromagnetic pulse will cut off electricity
When a nuclear explosion occurs, it can send out a pulse of electromagnetic radiation that cuts off electricity and knocks out all networks, cutting off power to a city or entire country.
In one nuclear test, the impulse sent by the detonation of one atomic bomb was so strong that it knocked out streetlights, televisions and telephones in homes for 1,600 kilometers around. This, however, was not planned. Since then, bombs have been developed specifically for this task.
If a bomb that is supposed to send an electromagnetic pulse explodes 400-480 kilometers above a country, such as the United States, the entire electrical grid of the country will fail.
So when the bomb falls, the lights go out. All food refrigerators will be out of order. Data on all computers will be inaccessible. To make matters worse, the facilities that supply cities with water will no longer provide clean, potable water.
It is believed that it will take six months to restore the country. But this is provided that people can work on it. But when the bomb falls, they won't have time for that.
Smoke will cover the sun
Areas near the epicenters will receive a powerful surge of energy and will be burned to ash. Everything that can burn will burn. Buildings, forests, plastic and even asphalt on the roads will burn. Oil refining facilities - which were planned targets during cold war- will explode with fire.
Fires that will engulf every target nuclear bombs, will send toxic smoke into the atmosphere. A dark cloud of smoke 15 kilometers above the Earth's surface will grow and move, pushed by the winds, until it covers the entire planet, blocking out the sun.
In the first years after a nuclear disaster, the world will become unrecognizable. The sun will stop giving its light to the planet, and we will see only black clouds blocking the usual light. It's hard to say for sure how long it will take before they dissipate and the sky turns blue again. But during a nuclear disaster, we can count on not seeing the sky for 30 years.
It will be too cold to grow food
Since there will be no more sun, temperatures will begin to drop. Depending on how many bombs are sent, the changes will become increasingly dramatic. IN in some cases Global temperatures can be expected to drop by 20 degrees Celsius.
If we face a total nuclear apocalypse, the first year will be without summer. The weather in which we usually grow crops will become winter or late autumn. Growing food will become impossible. Animals around the world will starve, plants will wither and die.
But there will be no new ice age. During the first five years, killing frost will greatly hinder the plants. But then everything will return to normal, and in about 25 years the temperature will return to normal. Life will go on, if we can witness it, of course.
The ozone layer will be torn
Of course, life will not return to normal soon and not completely. A year after the bomb hits, some of the processes triggered by air pollution will begin to poke holes in ozone layer. It won't be good. Even with a small nuclear war that uses only 0.03% of the world's arsenal, we can expect up to 50% of the ozone layer to be destroyed.
The world will be destroyed by ultraviolet rays. Plants will die everywhere, and living beings will face mutations in DNA. Even the most resilient crops will become weaker, smaller and less able to reproduce.
So when the skies clear and the world warms up a little, growing food will be incredibly difficult. When people try to grow food, entire fields will die, and farmers who stay in the sun long enough to grow crops will die painful deaths from skin cancer.
Billions of people will go hungry
If there was a nuclear apocalypse, it would be at least five years before anyone could grow sufficient quantity food. With frigid temperatures, killing frost and a debilitating stream of ultraviolet radiation from the skies, few crops will survive long enough to be harvested. Billions of people will be doomed to starvation.
The survivors will look for ways to grow food, but it won't be easy. People living near the ocean will have a better chance because the seas will cool slowly. But life in the oceans will also decrease.
The darkness of a blocked sky will kill plankton, the oceans' major food source. Radioactive contamination will also spill into the water, reducing the amount of life and making it dangerous for anyone who wants to taste it.
Most people who survived the bombing will not survive the next five years. There will be little food, a lot of competition, many will die.
Canned food will be edible
Among the few things that people will be able to eat in the first five years will be canned food. Tightly packed bags and cans of food can be eaten, and science fiction writers are not deceiving us about this.
Scientists conducted an experiment in which they placed beer in a can and soda near a nuclear explosion. The outside of the cans was covered with a thick layer of radiation, so to speak, but inside everything was fine. Drinks that were very close to the epicenter became highly radioactive, but they could also be drunk. Scientists tested radioactive beer and came up with a completely edible verdict.
Canned food is expected to be as safe as canned beer. There is also reason to believe that water from deep underground wells is also quite suitable. The struggle for survival will likely develop into a struggle for control of deep-sea wells and canned food reserves.
Chemical radiation will penetrate to the marrow of the bones
Even with food, survivors will have to fight the spread of cancer. Soon after the bombs fall, radioactive particles will rise into the sky and then fall to the ground. When they fall, we won't even be able to see them. But they can still kill us.
One of the deadly chemicals will be strontium-90, which tricks the body into pretending to be calcium when inhaled or consumed. The body sends out toxic chemical substances directly into the bone marrow and teeth, giving the victim bone cancer.
Whether we can survive these radioactive particles depends on our luck. It is unclear how long the particles will settle. If it takes a long time, you might get lucky.
If two weeks pass before the particles settle, their radioactivity will decrease a thousandfold, and we will be able to survive them. Yes, cancer will be more widespread, life expectancy will be shorter, mutations and defects will be more common, but humanity will definitely not be destroyed.
There will be massive storms
During the first two or three years of frosty darkness, we can expect the world to be struck by storms the likes of which the world has never seen.
Debris sent into the stratosphere will not only block the sun, but also affect the weather. It will change the way clouds form, making them more efficient at producing rain. Until things return to normal, we will see constant rain and powerful storms.
It will be even worse in the oceans. While temperatures on Earth will quickly enter nuclear winter, the oceans will take much longer to cool. They will remain warm, so massive storms will develop along the ocean front. Hurricanes and typhoons will wreak havoc on every coastline in the world, and they will continue to rage for many years.
People will survive
Billions of people will die if a nuclear disaster does occur. 500 million people will die instantly in the explosions of war. Billions will starve or freeze to death.
But there are many reasons to believe that humanity will survive. There won't be many people, but they will be there, and that's good. In the 1980s, scientists were convinced that in the event of a nuclear war the entire planet would be destroyed. But today we come to the conclusion that part of humanity will still be able to get through this war.
In 25-30 years, the clouds will clear, temperatures will return to normal, and life will have a chance to start again. The plants will grow. Yes, they won't be as lush. But in a few decades the world will look like a modern Chernobyl, in which giant forests have grown.
Life goes on. But the world will never be the same again.
Most of the destruction from a nuclear explosion will result from a shock wave traveling at supersonic speed (in the atmosphere - more than 350 m/s). While no one was looking, we took the W88 thermonuclear warhead with a yield of 475 kilotons, which is in service with the United States, and found out that if it exploded within a radius of 3 km from the epicenter, there would be absolutely nothing and no one left; at a distance of 4 km, buildings will be thoroughly destroyed, and beyond 5 km and further, the destruction will be medium and weak. The chances of survival will appear only if you are at least 5 km from the epicenter (and only if you manage to hide in the basement).
Light radiation
Causes ignition of flammable materials. But even if you find yourself far from gas stations and warehouses with Moment, you risk getting burns and eye damage. Therefore, hide behind some obstacle like a huge boulder, cover your head with a sheet of metal or other non-flammable thing and close your eyes. A W88 explosion at a distance of 5 km probably won't kill you. shock wave, but the light output can cause second degree burns. These are the ones with nasty blisters on the skin. At a distance of 6 km there is a risk of getting first-degree burns: redness, swelling, swelling of the skin - in a word, nothing serious. But the most pleasant thing will happen if you happen to be 7 km from the epicenter: an even tan is guaranteed.
Electromagnetic pulse
If you are not a cyborg, the impulse is not scary for you: it only disables electrical and electronic equipment. Just know that if you appear on the horizon nuclear mushroom, taking a selfie against his background is useless. The radius of the pulse depends on the height of the explosion and the surrounding situation and ranges from 3 to 115 km.
Penetrating radiation
Despite such a creepy name, the thing is fun and harmless. It destroys all living things only within a radius of 2–3 km from the epicenter, where the shock wave will kill you in any case.
Radioactive contamination
The meanest part of a nuclear explosion. It is a huge cloud consisting of radioactive particles raised into the air by an explosion. The area where radioactive contamination spreads strongly depends on natural factors, primarily on the direction of the wind. If W88 is detonated in a wind speed of 5 km/h, the radiation will be dangerous at a distance of up to 130 km from the epicenter in the direction of the wind (infection does not spread further than 3 km against the wind). The rate of death from radiation sickness depends on the distance of the epicenter, weather, terrain, characteristics of your body and a bunch of other factors. Infected people can either die instantly or live for years. How this happens is purely a matter of luck.
Mass famine will be the main consequence of any local nuclear conflict on Earth. This conclusion was reached by researchers from the international organization Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and its American branch Physicians for Social Responsibility. According to their model, a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan would lead to a significant reduction in crop production, leaving at least two billion people without food. The famine will be accompanied by large-scale epidemics that will threaten the death of several hundred million more people.
Scientific approach
The researchers took the nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan as an example, since it is considered the most likely - both states are developing nuclear weapons and have long been engaged in territorial disputes. According to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), as of 2013, India has 90-110 nuclear warheads. In turn, Pakistan is armed with 100-120 warheads of this type.
Atomic bomb test on Christmas Island in 1957
Back in 2008, American scientists Brian Toon, Alan Robock and Richard Turco published a study in which they suggested that the combined power of Indian and Pakistani warheads was equal to the power of one hundred bombs similar to the one dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. The power of the explosion of the “Baby” bomb, which destroyed part of Hiroshima, was 13-18 kilotons. Thus, the combined yield of Indo-Pakistani nuclear weapons could be up to 1.8 megatons, or 0.5% of the yield of all nuclear warheads (17,265 units) worldwide.
According to a study by Thun, Robock and Turco, the detonation of all Indian and Pakistani warheads would simultaneously release 6.6 million tons of soot into the atmosphere. This will lead to a decrease in the average temperature on Earth by 1.25 degrees Celsius. Moreover, even ten years after the nuclear conflict, the temperature on the planet will be 0.5 degrees lower than today.
Scientists note that Humanity experienced a kind of “nuclear autumn” in 1816, which is also called the “Year without Summer”. In 1815, Mount Tambora erupted on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa. The ash released into the atmosphere as a result of the eruption led to a decrease in temperatures by an average of 0.7 degrees in the northern hemisphere. Because of this (seemingly insignificant) cold snap, the planting period was shortened, and four waves of abnormal summer frosts (June 6-11, July 9-11, August 21 and 30, 1816) led to significant crop losses in the USA, Canada and North America. Europe. The consequences of the eruption were felt for another ten years.
A new study from Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War - "Nuclear Hunger: Two Billion People at Risk?" (Nuclear Famine: Two Billion People At Risk?) - based on scientific works about the consequences of nuclear conflicts in previous years and the theory of “nuclear autumn”, as well as adjusted estimates of soot emissions in the event of an Indo-Pakistan nuclear war (scientists suggested that only five million tons of soot would enter the atmosphere). At the same time, the doctors honestly admitted that their study was based on a conservative scenario that does not take into account interruptions in the supply of fuel and fertilizers, increasing exposure to ultraviolet radiation and temperature extremes.
The study is the first to provide rough estimates of the reduction in global crop yields in the event of a local nuclear conflict. The article also takes into account data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, according to which Now about 870 million people are hungry on Earth. The Decision Support System Agricultural Technology Transfer 4.02 (DSSAT 4.02) model was used to calculate yield reductions, allowing predictions to be made on a hectare-by-hectare basis taking into account climate, ecology, agricultural practices and cultivar genotype.
In addition, scientists took into account that a decrease in the volume of crop cultivation and food production will certainly lead to higher prices on the world market. Price increases were predicted based on economic model Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP). Although this model allows us to roughly estimate the impact of food shortages on prices, accurate prediction becomes impossible due to the human factor: panic, the desire of successful companies for super-profits, difficult-to-predict cases of migration from disaster zones and the actions of regional authorities after a nuclear conflict.
Doctors cited the Bengal famine of 1943 as an example of a difficult-to-predict price rise. That year, because of the world war, food production in the region fell by five percent compared to the average of the previous five years, but was still 13 percent higher than in 1941, when there was no famine. However, the Japanese occupation of Burma, a traditional grain exporter to Bengal, coupled with minor food shortages, caused panic. As a result, food prices increased significantly: rice rose in price five times, turning into a delicacy. Three million people died of hunger in Bengal.
Nuclear famine
So let's imagine the following scenario. Nuclear war between India and Pakistan broke out in mid-May. Multiple nuclear explosions in Hindustan, it was this month that led to the greatest damage to environment and climate. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation - NAPF, an advisory body of the UN Economic and Social Council - takes mid-May to model the consequences of nuclear conflicts.
As a result of the exchange of blows, multiple fires arose on the territory of India and Pakistan, five million tons of soot were released into the atmosphere, which, due to its low mass and developed surface (that is, the relief area of particles excessive for a small mass), rose above the level with rising hot air currents clouds
According to the NAPF, from nuclear weapons (poisoning by decay products, lack of qualified medical care, radiation poisoning) killed about a billion people. Due to soot, up to 10% of sunlight stopped reaching the Earth, which led to a decrease in average temperatures. At the same time, annual precipitation worldwide began to decrease, with the largest decrease, up to 40%, occurring in the Asian region. The climate effect quickly spread to the rest of the world, most severely affecting East and South Asia, the United States and Eurasia.
Illustration of the spread of soot in the Earth's upper atmosphere after the Indo-Pakistan nuclear conflict that began on May 15.
According to the calculations of the World Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, the most acute consequences of a nuclear conflict were felt over the next ten years. During this time, the cultivation of grains, which account for up to 80% of total food consumption among the poor, fell by an average of 10% in the United States compared to pre-war levels. The largest decline, 20%, occurred in the fifth year after the nuclear war. By the fifth year, U.S. soybean production was down 20%. In China, rice production fell by 21% in the first four years and by an average of 10% in the next six years.
In the first year after a local nuclear war in Hindustan, wheat cultivation in China decreased by 50 percent and by an average of 31 percent over ten years. Corn production in the same country has declined by an average of 15 percent over ten years. In an effort to meet its grain needs, China first used up government reserves and then began actively importing agricultural products. Due to China's purchases of products abroad, food prices, which had already increased by 98.7 percent over ten years, began to rise even more. In South Asia, shortages and panic sent prices rising 140.6 percent by the end of the decade.
To the 870 million people starving before the war worldwide, another 1.52 billion people were added, 1.3 billion of whom were in China. Famine mortality statistics are unknown, but it is known that the world's grain reserves (509 million tons) were consumed by humanity within 77 days after yields dropped significantly. Malnutrition is the cause of epidemics of cholera, typhus, malaria and dysentery (humanity has already encountered a similar effect, for example, in 1943 in the same Bengal, where epidemics of cholera, malaria, smallpox and dysentery were recorded). Epidemics, which developed into pandemics in some regions, killed several hundred million people.
Nuclear Twilight
The “Nuclear Hunger” study is far from the first, but it is the most complete in terms of approximate calculations of the impact of nuclear conflicts on Agriculture. However, other studies that try to paint a picture of a post-apocalyptic world that has survived a global nuclear war or at least a massive exchange of nuclear strikes between the United States and Russia are also interesting.
Doctors limited themselves to a local nuclear conflict in Hindustan, but most theorists of nuclear war argue that such conflicts with a high degree of probability and in the shortest possible time can develop into global ones.
Illustration of the spread of soot in the Earth's upper atmosphere after a nuclear war between Russia and the United States. The conflict involving the use of nuclear weapons occurred on May 15.
According to calculations by the Nuclear Darkness portal (maintained by NAPF), Russia and the United States in the event of a nuclear conflict can use 4.4 thousand warheads with a total capacity of more than 440 megatons. As a result of such a war, 770 million people will die almost simultaneously. 180 million tons of soot will be released into the atmosphere at a time, which will rise to the upper layers of the atmosphere and block up to 70% of sunlight over the surface of the entire northern hemisphere and up to 35% of the southern hemisphere. This effect is called “nuclear twilight.” IN North America The air temperature will quickly drop by 20 degrees Celsius, and in Eurasia by 30 degrees.
Simultaneously with the decrease in illumination planet will happen and a 45 percent reduction in precipitation. The world will enter a new ice age (similar to the one that took place 18 thousand years ago). Up to 70 percent of the world's crops will be lost. At the same time, a significant reduction in the sowing period will lead to mass famine on Earth. A sharp drop in agricultural production will be affected not only by cold weather and a significant decrease in illumination, but also by an increase in ultraviolet radiation due to significant destruction of the Earth's ozone layer. A nuclear war between the United States and Russia would result in the extinction of many animals at the top of the food chain, including almost all of humanity.
According to calculations by various researchers, due to a large-scale Russian-American nuclear conflict, between one and four billion people could die worldwide. After a sharp decline in population due to war, the decline in the number of people on the planet will continue due to pandemics, reduction in habitable areas, radioactive fallout and food shortages. Most countries in the world will plunge into the Stone Age.
The “nuclear twilight” will dissipate within ten years. But this is not the end - due to small remnants of soot in the atmosphere, reminiscent of haze, they will become “nuclear fog”, which will hang over the planet for many more years.