Problem
Nuclear winter
Other Names:
Nuclear war induced winter chillSunlight inhibition by nuclear warfare soot
Nature:
Nuclear war between the superpowers in the spring or summer would not only contaminate the land with radioactive fall-out, but the nuclear forces expended would drive hundreds of millions of tons of soot, smoke and dust into the atmosphere and, by blocking sunlight, drop the temperature 10 to 25 deg C throughout North America, Europe and Northern Asia, destroying most crops immediately. A nuclear war in January could blacken the sky until June, kill all livestock and induce famine for over a year. There would be few survivors: civil defence plans for food stores do not take into account such a nuclear winter.
Broader Problems:
SootNuclear warDisastrous consequences of war Related Problems:
Global warmingVolcanic winterAbsence of direct sunlight Subject(s):
Astronomy → Astronomy Climatology → Climatology
Defence → War
Fundamental Sciences → Heat
Meteorology → Meteorology
Societal Problems → Waste
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
E: Emanations of other problems Date of last update
04.10.2020 – 22:48 CEST