Scientists at Michigan Technological University have found that the use of US nuclear weapons will kill tens of millions of Americans, even if the enemy does not react to the attack. According to even the most optimistic scenario, in which there is no exchange of strikes and guaranteed mutual destruction, a global nuclear winter will cause significant damage to all of humanity, including the people of the United States. This is reported by Science Alert.
The doctrine of guaranteed mutual destruction provides that the use of weapons of mass destruction between the two parties owning them will lead to the complete destruction of the latter. Despite the seeming obviousness, this concept is based on a number of assumptions, including the ability of the attacked side to clearly record the attack, ensure the preservation of its nuclear arsenal and the inability to defend both parties to the conflict. Failure to comply with these requirements may lead to the fact that one of the parties will win.
However, the researchers concluded that even then, a situation called environmental blow-back would arise. It includes the fallout of radioactive fallout over the entire surface of the globe, as well as the formation of clouds of soot and smoke that impede the penetration of sunlight. As a result, the nuclear winter predicted by the American astronomer Carl Sagan will come, which will cause global famine and the subsequent death of hundreds of millions of people even in those countries that did not participate in the conflict.
Scientists estimate that if the United States uses seven thousand nuclear warheads, then up to five million Americans will die of hunger. The "safe" number of missiles fired, at which civilian casualties from an ecological retaliation strike are reduced to zero (the national pragmatic safe threshold), is no more than a hundred. However, the researchers note that these estimates are conservative, that is, much more serious consequences are possible.