Even a Small Nuclear Showdown Would Mean Worldwide Disaster

[madokie]

In these decades after the Cold War, "nuclear winter" is an idea that can feel as remote as science fiction. But using state-of-the-art climate models, scientist have calculated exactly what nuclear winter will look like after even a small, regional conflict. Boy is it bad.

This uplifting climate news come to us from a journal called Earth's Future, which published a study recently unearthed by Francie Diep at Popular Science. The hypothetical scenario is nuclear war between India and Pakistan. Two sides each drop fifty 15 kiloton bombs—peanuts compared to the nuclear arsenals of the U.S. and Russia—before abating. What then?

Let's get started.

In the minutes after a nuclear explosion, everything in the vicinity is burning hot. Tiny particles of black carbon begin to rise up from the burning wreckage, eventually accumulating to five megatons in the atmosphere. Black carbon, which loves to absorb sunlight, has two related effects: 1) the Earth gets colder and 2) the stratosphere gets hotter. Both have massive consequences, not just for India and Pakistan, but for the entire planet.

http://gizmodo.com/even-a-small-nuclear-showdown-would-mean-worldwide-disa-1608529318

[bananas]

1. k&r nt