---
title: "This Is What Would Happen if the US and Russia Nuked Each Other"
description: "If the U.S. and Russian engaged in nuclear war, it would plunge the Earth into a nuclear winter, with tempteratures plummeting and soot blocking the Sun."
date: "2019-08-21"
modified: "2019-08-21"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin.md"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nuclear-war-us-russia"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "nuclear war"
  - "nuclear winter"
  - "Russia"
  - "the digest"
---

# This Is What Would Happen if the US and Russia Nuked Each Other

![If the U.S. and Russian engaged in nuclear war, it would plunge the Earth into a nuclear winter, with tempteratures plummeting and soot blocking the Sun.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/nuclear-war-us-russia.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Alexander Antropov via Pixabay/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Nuclear War

A team of American climate scientists recently simulated what would happen if the United States and Russia attacked each other with all the nuclear weapons at their disposal — and it's about as bad as you might expect.

According to their [study](<https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019JD030509>), which was published in the *Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres*, the attacks would lead to a multi-year nuclear winter. A blanket of soot would cover the entire planet within two weeks of launch, and it wouldn't dissipate for about a decade.

Temperatures would drop by an average of 9 degrees Celsius (16 degrees Fahrenheit) across the globe, the researchers wrote, and it would take around three years for surface light to return to 40 percent of its pre-attack level.

## Tense Situation

This study is incredibly relevant given the current strain in the [U.S.'s relationship with Russia](<https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49405499>).

Earlier in August, the U.S. backed out of a Cold War-era nuclear treaty after accusing Russia of violating it — a claim Russia denied.

Then, on Sunday, the U.S. tested a missile that would've been banned under that treaty. That act prompted Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov to accuse the U.S. of "fomenting military tensions" in an [interview](<https://tass.com/politics/1074170>) with state-run news agency *Tass*.

If those tensions escalate to the point that the two world powers do engage in a nuclear war, based on these new simulations, it seems they won't only be assuring their own destruction, but that of the rest of the planet as well.

**READ MORE:** [New Study Outlines The Nuclear Winter We'd Have if US And Russia Blew Up Their Bombs](<https://www.sciencealert.com/the-best-simulation-we-have-says-the-threat-of-a-nuclear-winter-is-all-too-real>) \[*ScienceAlert*\]

**More on nuclear warfare:** *[Raytheon Says Laser Weapon Will Blast Nuclear Missiles From Sky](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/raytheon-lasers-hypersonic-missiles.md>)*

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

## More

- [Russian Media Says Kremlin Would Nuke These U.S. Targets First](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/russia-nuclear-targets-united-states.md>)
- [This Video Shows Horrifying Devastation of US-Russia Nuclear War](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/video-horrifying-devastation-us-russia-nuclear-war.md>)
- [Russia’s Latest Weapon: A Laser Cannon](<https://futurism.com/russias-latest-weapon-laser-cannon.md>)
- [This Is What Nuclear Warfare Will Do To Our Planet](<https://futurism.com/this-is-what-nuclear-warfare-will-do-to-our-planet.md>)
- [The Pentagon Just Simulated a Nuclear War With Russia](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/pentagon-simulated-nuclear-war-russia.md>)
- [US Report Confirms Russia Is Developing the World’s Most Powerful Nuclear Weapon](<https://futurism.com/us-report-confirms-russia-developing-worlds-most-powerful-nuclear-weapon.md>)
- [Horrific Simulation: Nuclear War Would Kill Five Billion People](<https://futurism.com/nuclear-war-simulation-famine.md>)
- [4 Astounding Things About Russia’s (Supposed) New Weapons](<https://futurism.com/4-things-russias-new-weapons.md>)