Nuclea security

A nuclear warhead strike could trigger worldwide climate change, resulting in billions of deaths from drought and famine, chilling study warns

As tensions build around the world, many countries have begun beefing up their defense capabilities to prepare for a nuclear threat.

But, experts warn the repercussions of a blast won’t just be limited to the site of a nuclear strike – instead, such an event could cause global devastation.

A new report found that warheads of magnitudes already owned by several major nuclear powers could trigger climate change as the resulting black ash causes temperatures to drop, leading to drought, famine, and billions of deaths.

The researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln investigated 19 types of weapons currently held by five major nuclear powers: the US, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France.

According to the report, it would take just a handful of these bombs to bring on disastrous effects that would ripple worldwide.

‘We’re losing our memory of the Cold War and we’re losing our memory of how important it is to get this right,’ said co-author Tyler White, a political scientist who specializes in international security and nuclear policy.