Full-scale Nuclear War Of Us Vs Russia Could Kill 5 Billion People; Study Shows

Nuclear war today would lead to the death of five billion people, with a global famine, caused by soot blocking sunlight, likely killing far more people than lethal blasts.

Scientists at Rutgers University have mapped out the effects of six possible nuclear conflict scenarios. The study published in Nature Food predicted that a full-scale war between the US and Russia would wipe out more than half of humanity.

Estimates were based on calculations of how much soot would enter the atmosphere as a result of firestorms caused by the detonation of nuclear weapons. National Center for Atmospheric Research climate forecasting tool was used to estimate productivity of major crops on a country-by-country basis.

Global food production would be devastated even by a relatively small conflict. During a conflict between India and Pakistan, crop yields would decline by an estimated 7 percent within five years, while a war between the United States and Russia would cause production to drop by 90 percent within three to four years.

Additionally, researchers examined whether crops used as feed for animals or reducing food waste could offset losses immediately after the conflict, but found that savings would be minimal in larger conflicts.

Following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the possibility of conflict between the United States and Russia has been raised. There is a "serious" risk of nuclear war breaking out, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in April.

The data tell us one thing, says Alan Robock, the study's co-author and a professor in Rutgers University's Department of Environmental Sciences. "We must prevent a nuclear war from ever occurring."

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