---
title: "Ammunition Stockpiles Are Exploding As Global Temps Rise"
description: "Rising global temperatures could lead to more unplanned explosions of military ammunition stockpiles, experts told Scientific American."
date: "2019-11-15"
modified: "2019-11-15"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/military-ammunition-stockpiles-exploding-global-warming"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "global warming"
  - "military"
  - "the digest"
  - "unplanned explosions at munitions sites"
---

# Ammunition Stockpiles Are Exploding As Global Temps Rise

![Rising global temperatures could lead to more unplanned explosions of military ammunition stockpiles, experts told Scientific American.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ammunition-stockpiles-exploding-global-warming.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: U.S. Air Force/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Unplanned Explosions

More than [600 times](<http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/weapons-and-markets/stockpiles/unplanned-explosions-at-munitions-sites.html>) in the past four decades, sites where militaries store their ammunition and explosives have blown up unexpectedly, sometimes killing as many as [1,000 people](<https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/nigeria-arms-depot-explosion-rocks-lagos>) at once.

While many of these [unplanned explosions at munitions sites](<http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/de/weapons-and-markets/stockpiles/unplanned-explosions-at-munitions-sites/definition-classification.html>) are later attributed to human error or improper storage, the causes of most are never determined.

But experts interviewed for a new *Scientific American* [investigation](<https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/climate-change-may-be-blowing-up-arms-depots/>) blame heat for the phenomenon — and say that global warming could dramatically increase the number of explosions in the future.

## Hot in Here

Experts told *SA* that higher temperatures can weaken the structural integrity of stored military weapons and ammunition. And when *SA* analyzed data from the [arms-monitoring Small Arms Survey](<http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/weapons-and-markets/stockpiles/unplanned-explosions-at-munitions-sites.html>), it found that the weapon explosions were about 60 percent more likely to occur between late-April and mid-September — the hottest period of the year.

"As climate change raises summer temperatures and boosts the number and severity of heat waves the world over," *SA* wrote, "weapons experts warn of more of such unplanned explosions... particularly in places that are already steeped in conflict or have poor stockpile management, or both."

## Human Error

Hotter temperatures don't just affect the explosives directly, either — soldiers told *SA* the extreme heat of summer causes them to experience "foggy decision-making" that can lead to explosion-causing mistakes.

"In the military, everything is more difficult when it’s summer," an Iraqi artillery officer identified as Ali told *SA*. "And now summer never ends."

**READ MORE:** [Climate Change May Be Blowing Up Arms Depots](<https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/climate-change-may-be-blowing-up-arms-depots/>) \[*Scientific American*\]

**More on climate change:** *[Pentagon Report Predicts Collapse of US Military Within 20 Years](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/pentagon-report-predicts-military-collapse>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)