Studies have shown that a nuclear war could kill 5 billion people. Agricultural production would be devastated by the smoke in the air blocking out sunlight, and the death toll from a global famine would likely far exceed that of a nuclear explosion.
Researchers at Rutgers University analyzed the impact of six possible nuclear war scenarios. A worst-case scenario of an all-out war between the United States and Russia could kill more than half of humanity, according to a report published in the journal Nature Food.
The study calculated how much soot would be blown into the atmosphere by a whirlwind caused by a nuclear weapon explosion. A weather forecasting tool supported by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) was used to determine the productivity of key agricultural commodities by country.
Fears of war between the United States and Russia have increased since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.RussianForeign Minister Lavrovwarned in April of a “serious risk” of nuclear war.
“All the data is trying to tell us is that we should never allow nuclear war,” said Alan Robock, a professor at Rutgers University who co-authored the study.
news-rsf-original-reference paywall">Five Billion Face Death in Full-Scale Nuclear War, Study Shows(excerpt)