Nuclear Winter

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

And it's about as bad as you might expect.
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.
Image: Alexander Antropov via Pixabay/Victor Tangermann

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, 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.

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 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 [ScienceAlert]

More on nuclear warfare: Raytheon Says Laser Weapon Will Blast Nuclear Missiles From Sky