What will happen to the planet after a nuclear war?

Astronomy teaches humility.When an endless cosmic ocean with billions of galaxies and star systems appears before our eyes, our perception of the world changes. Huge distances that we cannot overcome make us think about our own place in the Universe. And since today the Earth is our only home, we must value and protect it. But, as is often the case, we did not cope with the task: the rapid climate change and the extinction of wildlife call into question our continued existence. And even if you take climate change out of the equation, the threat of nuclear war, alas, has not disappeared anywhere, and the results of a new study have shown that the use of nuclear weapons can lead to terrible consequences.

The destruction caused by nuclear weapons is not limited to the battlefield: it will devastate all countries, including the attacker

No matter what scientists work on, they still get weapons - Kurt Vonnegut, "Cat's Cradle"

Content

• 1 Nuclear world
• 2 Earth after a nuclear war
• 3 Radiation fallout
• 4 How to reduce the risk of nuclear war?

nuclear world

The world is a fragile place.Someday everything we see and know will disappear from the face of the Earth. Alas, stars, planets and entire galaxies will not exist forever - this is how the Universe works. But you and I, however, are hastening our own disappearance.

In 1939, the discovery of the fission of the uranium nucleus duringabsorption of neutrons, marked the beginning of the invention of the atomic bomb. History reached its climax on August 6, 1945, when, at the final stage of World War II, the US Air Force dropped the first atomic bomb in history on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion killed about 80,000 people, followed by radiation sickness that claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Radiation sickness occurs as a result of exposure to ionizingdifferent types of radiation. Symptoms of the disease depend on different types of ionizing radiation, dose and location of the source. When irradiated, certain cellular structures begin to break down.

Tens of thousands of people became victims of the bombing of Japanese cities

Three days later, an American B-29 bomberdealt another blow to Japan by dropping an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. At least 40,000 people became victims of military aggression. Due to the scale of destruction and chaos, most of the infrastructure of the two cities was destroyed, and the exact number of deaths from the bombing remains unknown to this day.

The atomic bomb is a weapon of inhumanity and absolute evil, with which people cannot exist.

August 15, 1945 Emperor Hirohito of Japanannounced the unconditional surrender of his country, citing the destructive power of the "new and most cruel bomb." When the smoke finally cleared, the creators of nuclear weapons called on the world community to abandon its further use and development.

Earth after a nuclear war

Unfortunately, in the 21st century, the threat of nuclear war againhung in peace. The results of a recent study showed that in the event of a military nuclear conflict, our planet will turn into an icy desert, and irreparable damage will be done to the Earth's ecosystems.

According to the Stockholm International Research Institute, currently nine countries control over 13,000 nuclear weapons in the world.

The prospect of nuclear conflict, once unthinkable, is now possible again

The results of scientific work have shown that firestorms due to nuclear war will bring aerosols into the atmosphere that block light, which lead to global cooling. To calculate the possible consequencesthe researchers developed a computer model with several scenarios. In the first, a nuclear conflict takes place between Russia and the United States, and in the second, between India and Pakistan.

So, if the US and Russia use 4,400 nuclearcharges with a capacity of 100 kilotons, smoke and soot absorbing sunlight will enter the upper atmosphere. The same would happen in the case of an Indo-Pakistani conflict, and in the first month after a nuclear explosion, the average global temperature of the Earth would fall by about 10 degrees Celsius, marking the beginning of the Little Ice Age.

The presence of nuclear weapons creates a risk of their use

It doesn't really matter who bombs whom.It could be India and Pakistan or the US and Russia. As soon as smoke enters the upper atmosphere, it will spread throughout the world and affect absolutely everyone, the authors of the scientific work write.

The reaction of the oceans will also not force itselflong wait: its temperature will drop quickly and will not soon return to the pre-war state. Sea ice will also cover previously free coastal areas, making food supplies much more difficult.

More on the topic: Tactical nuclear weapons - what is it and what is its danger

Ocean recovery will likely takedecades on its surface and hundreds of years at depth. Ultimately, the use of nuclear weapons will disrupt the interconnection of Earth's ecosystems, which have already been severely affected by rapid climate change.

Radiation fallout

shock wave and heat generated by detonationa single nuclear bomb could immediately end the lives of millions of people. But the most terrible consequence is the radiation fallout generated by the explosion (the type of fallout largely depends on the type of weapon, power and location of the explosion).

Yes, possible three types of radiation injury: bodily injury (mainly leukemia and cancerthyroid gland); genetic damage (birth defects); and developmental and growth disorders (primarily growth and mental retardation in young children).

Hundreds of thousands of people could lose their lives as a result of a nuclear bomb explosion

Taken together, nuclear weapons have a hugedestructive force. The nuclear winter scenario described by scientists would lead to the death of billions of people and put an end to life as we know it. The possibility of global devastation and starvation is what makes the prospect of nuclear war terrifying.

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How to reduce the risk of nuclear war?

Weapons that can lead to self-destructioncannot be used for strategic purposes. In addition, humanity is unlikely to survive a full-scale nuclear war - most likely it will be our last. Recall that today almost ten thousand nuclear weapons are distributed among nine countries.

But what if someone clicks on the redbutton? The primary task of the survivors will be directed to the production of food and other essentials. However, people shaken by the war may not be up to the task. Alas, even without a nuclear war, the world is on the brink of disaster.

War is a constant companion of mankind throughout its history.

According to researchers, the world's nuclear arsenalshould be reduced to zero. For example, in the past countries have concluded several treaties on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, which have played a key role in reducing the nuclear arsenal.

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The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into forceeffective in 2021 and is a recent step in this direction. Yet the threat of nuclear war remains real, and the climate crisis is reducing our species' chances of survival. In addition, the worst effects of a nuclear war may not yet have been discovered. But if the creators of the atomic bomb eventually realized their responsibility, maybe world leaders will take a cue from them?