Experts from Ragters University, New Jersey and the University of Colorado at Boulder conducted computer simulations of the consequences of a nuclear war between the United States and Russia, which, as everyone understands, will have devastating consequences for the entire world. However, the results of the work shocked even the scientists themselves, for after such a war the world will truly "plunge into darkness."
The study was based on a similar work of 2007, which, according to scientists, for a long time was the best existing model of what could happen as a result of a nuclear war between the United States and Russia. However, the model was controversial and was denied by many as exaggerating and far-fetched.
As proof of the alternative point of view, the supporters of the revision of the model cited nuclear tests, of which, since its inception, there have been more than two thousand. The total force of the explosions was tens of megatons, however, despite this, no catastrophe happened.
Esri Interactive Nuclear Explosion Map:
Based on these arguments, the new study took observations of the spread of smoke from burning forests and ash from volcanic eruptions as a working model - the team of researchers had a very large amount of material collected recently by satellites and balloons.
Data obtained from nuclear weapons tests were also used, but they were used only partially - exclusively in modeling radioactive contamination.
In a paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, scientists detail both their model and the consequences of multiple nuclear explosions. And the general conclusion of the work boils down to the fact that, in the event of an exchange of nuclear strikes between the United States and Russia, about 150 megatons of soot will be lifted into the sky almost instantly.
Promotional video:
A cloud of black smoke will cover the Northern Hemisphere in about one week, after which, over the next week, the soot will be evenly distributed in the atmosphere of the entire planet.
For a short period, measured in several days, the planet will plunge into almost complete darkness, after which the first flashes of light will appear. However, it will take three years for the atmosphere to return to 40 percent permeability from the pre-nuclear level.
The second problem will be a total reduction in precipitation. As a result of short-term total blackout, the process of cloud formation will be disrupted and the amount of precipitation will immediately decrease by 30 percent, which will be observed for several years and around the world.
The researchers did not take into account the level of radiation, assuming that nuclear war will be limited and the average background radiation on the planet will be in relative norm. Even so, however, the consequences for global agriculture will be disastrous. The researchers write:
“The rise of large amounts of smoke into the stratosphere will lead to a sharp decrease in surface solar radiation and, as a result, to average summer temperatures in the northern hemisphere, which may be even below freezing point. But even if such a fall does not occur, temperatures below zero will still be observed in the northern hemisphere in the summer months. This will lead to the complete destruction of agriculture."
At the end of the study, scientists conclude that in the event of an exchange between the United States and Russia of strikes with the use of strategic nuclear charges, the term “nuclear winter” that has stood since the last century will be absolutely legitimate.
According to the computer model, a strong freezing of the atmosphere with the transformation of part of the nitrogen into snow, as it was once thought, will not happen, nevertheless, agriculture will be destroyed even at the equator, and the first consequence of this will be famine.
The second consequence, due to a total decrease in precipitation by 30 percent and a violation of the wind rose (the remaining rains can fall not on land, but only over the oceans) may be a global shortage of fresh water.
Further, after listing all these horrors, the researchers give the governments of the world recommendations for a complete ban on strategic nuclear weapons, the use of which will make the war completely meaningless. The doc says:
“To completely rule out the possibility of an environmental catastrophe resulting from a full-scale nuclear war, decision-makers must be fully aware of the serious climatic consequences of a nuclear war and act accordingly. Ultimately, it is necessary to reduce nuclear arsenals and the possible disarmament of all nuclear parties."
