Even a Small Nuclear War Could Cause Global Problems
- 10 years ago
There are an estimated 17 thousand nuclear weapons that exist in the world today, which are powerful enough to destroy life on Earth as we know it. According to a study by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, even a relatively small regional nuclear war would have devastating effects on the entire planet.
There are an estimated 17 thousand nuclear weapons that exist in the world today, which are powerful enough to destroy life on Earth as we know it.
According to a study by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, even a relatively small regional nuclear war would have devastating effects on the entire planet.
Researchers used a weather model to simulate what would happen if two countries detonated 100 nuclear weapons in their area.
Michael Mills, the lead author of the study is quoted as saying: “It’s such a complex process that you need sophisticated climate models to understand it. As we get a more detailed picture, we find that the atmospheric effects for a given amount of weapons deployed are even more severe than we previously thought.”
Results of the study show that more than 5 million tons of ash could be blown into the atmosphere by firestorms, which would block out the sun and cause extremely cold temperatures on the surface of our planet.
Other studies had projected that global temperatures would get back to normal around ten years after a nuclear explosion, but the new study says that it might take up to 26 years.
There are an estimated 17 thousand nuclear weapons that exist in the world today, which are powerful enough to destroy life on Earth as we know it.
According to a study by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, even a relatively small regional nuclear war would have devastating effects on the entire planet.
Researchers used a weather model to simulate what would happen if two countries detonated 100 nuclear weapons in their area.
Michael Mills, the lead author of the study is quoted as saying: “It’s such a complex process that you need sophisticated climate models to understand it. As we get a more detailed picture, we find that the atmospheric effects for a given amount of weapons deployed are even more severe than we previously thought.”
Results of the study show that more than 5 million tons of ash could be blown into the atmosphere by firestorms, which would block out the sun and cause extremely cold temperatures on the surface of our planet.
Other studies had projected that global temperatures would get back to normal around ten years after a nuclear explosion, but the new study says that it might take up to 26 years.