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What happens if nuclear weapons are used?
Nuclear weapons are the most destructive, inhumane and indiscriminate weapons ever created. Both in the scale of the devastation they cause, and in their uniquely persistent, spreading, genetically damaging radioactive fallout, they are unlike any other weapons. A single nuclear bomb detonated over a large city could kill millions of people. The use of tens or hundreds of nuclear bombs would disrupt the global climate, causing widespread famine.
If a nuclear weapon detonates, what happens?
Short-term effects
A single nuclear weapon can destroy a city and kill most of its people. Several nuclear explosions over modern cities would kill tens of millions of people. Casualties from a major nuclear war between the US and Russia would reach hundreds of millions.
It takes around 10 seconds for the fireball from a nuclear explosion to reach its maximum size. A nuclear explosion releases vast amounts of energy in the form of blast, heat and radiation. An enormous shockwave reaches speeds of many hundreds of kilometres an hour. The blast kills people close to ground zero, and causes lung injuries, ear damage and internal bleeding further away. People sustain injuries from collapsing buildings and flying objects. Thermal radiation is so intense that almost everything close to ground zero is vaporized. The extreme heat causes severe burns and ignites fires over a large area, which coalesce into a giant firestorm. Even people in underground shelters face likely death due to a lack of oxygen and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Long-term effects
In the long-term, nuclear weapons produce ionizing radiation, which kills or sickens those exposed, contaminates the environment, and has long-term health consequences, including cancer and genetic damage. Their widespread use in atmospheric testing has caused grave long-term consequences. Physicians project that some 2.4 million people worldwide will eventually die from cancers due to atmospheric nuclear tests conducted between 1945 and 1980.
The use of less than one percent of the nuclear weapons in the world could disrupt the global climate and threaten as many as two billion people with starvation in a nuclear famine in the long-term. The detonation of thousands of nuclear weapons could result in a nuclear winter, which would destroy our fragile ecosystem.
Physicians and first responders would be unable to work in devastated, radioactively contaminated areas. Even a single nuclear detonation in a modern city would strain existing disaster relief resources to the breaking point; a nuclear war would overwhelm any relief system we could build in advance. Displaced populations from a nuclear war will produce a refugee crisis that is orders of magnitude larger than any we have ever experienced.
Environmental and socio-economic impact of nuclear weapons
The existence of nuclear weapons has a strong impact on the environment. Nuclear war would mean a climate disruption with devastating consequences. The world would fall under a nuclear winter, be subject to a deadly global famine and exacerbated effects of global warming.
The socio-economic impacts would also be terrible, with developing countries and marginalized groups the ones that will suffer the most. Nuclear weapons are also a vacuum for financial support: in their development, maintenance and dismantlement. This is money that could be better spent funding assets such as green technologies and health facilities.
Learn more about how nuclear weapons affect the environment.
What makes nuclear weapons the worst
1. They cause a lot of destruction and death.
A single nuclear weapon can destroy a city and kill most of its people. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are prime examples of the fatality caused by an atomic bomb. Several nuclear explosions over modern cities would kill tens of millions of people. Casualties from a major nuclear war between the US and Russia would reach hundreds of millions.
2. Civilians are the main victims.
The extreme destruction caused by nuclear weapons cannot be limited to military targets or to combatants. Civilians are more often the majority of casualties from a nuclear attack; those within range are either killed or suffer long-term health implications from a nuclear blast and resulting radiation. Even those in neighbouring cities or countries would suffer from the impact of a nuclear detonation.
Due to the inability of nuclear weapons to distinguish between civilians and militants, and the lack of control we have over nuclear blasts makes them a prime example of inhumane weaponry that needs to be outlawed.
3. They lead to high levels of radiation.
Nuclear weapons produce ionizing radiation, which kills or sickens those exposed, contaminates the environment, and has long-term health consequences, including cancer and genetic damage. The legacy of nuclear testing means that up to 2.4 million people worldwide will die from illnesses linked to nuclear testing in the twentieth century.
Even the production of nuclear weapons has an effect on the environment. Producing the explosive materials used in nuclear weapons leads to long-lasting radioactive pollution.
4. They could lead to climate disruption and worldwide famine.
Use of less than one percent of the nuclear weapons in the world could disrupt the global climate and threaten as many as two billion people with starvation in a nuclear famine. The thousands of nuclear weapons possessed by the US and Russia could bring about a nuclear winter, destroying the essential ecosystems on which all life depends.
5. Humanitarian aid wouldn't be provided to victims.
There would be no humanitarian response. Physicians and first responders would be unable to work in devastated, radioactively contaminated areas. Even a single nuclear detonation in a modern city would strain existing disaster relief resources to the breaking point; a nuclear war would overwhelm any relief system we could build in advance. Displaced populations from a nuclear war will produce a refugee crisis that is orders of magnitude larger than any we have ever experienced.
6. Widespread implications to health and the environment.
Whether or not they are detonated, nuclear weapons cause widespread harm to health and to the environment. Those that have nuclear weapons are unable to fully control them, making them a constant liability.
7. Misuse of public funds.
Spending on nuclear weapons detracts limited resources away from vital social services. Currently states that are armed with nuclear weapons spend close to US $225 million a day on nuclear forces.
For more information, find out the 10 things you should know about nuclear weapons.