What will happen if there is a nuclear war between Russia and the United States?
- New horizons online
- 16 November 2022, 10:48
A study published in the journal 'Nature' last August looked at how a week-long nuclear war between the US and Russia would affect the environment, people and the global food supply.
Researchers fear that 360 million people may die due to that war. Besides, 500 crore people may face food crisis for two years. Because the smoke caused by the explosion will destroy the food production.
This research is done assuming that tactical weapons will be used in combat.
Alan Roebuck, professor of environmental sciences at Rutgers University, who was involved in the study, said that tactical weapons refer to weapons that are 'launched from a great distance'.
In an earlier study, Professor Robock showed that the atomic bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki produced about zero and five teragrams of smoke. And in a recent study, he and other researchers have estimated that 150 teragrams of smoke will be generated if there is a nuclear war between the United States and Russia.
The researchers of the report published in the journal Nature also tried to know the amount of damage and loss of life in case of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan in 2025. They say that about 165 million people will lose their lives in that war. And 250 crore people will face food crisis for two years.
Dylan Spaulding, a senior scientist at the Global Security Program of the US-based organization 'Union of Concerned Scientists', said that there is a difference in the impact between the explosion of a nuclear bomb on the ground and the explosion in the air.
A bomb explosion in the sky can cause many casualties. However, the effect of radiation on the surrounding environment may be less. But in case of explosion on land, in addition to loss of life, the effect of radioactivity on the environment and people can be high. A comparison between the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Chernobyl accident provides evidence of this. Because the amount of radioactivity that was released in the explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was about 40 times less than in Chernobyl.
Source: Deutsche Welle
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