Some two-thirds of the world could starve to death in the event of a nuclear war between Russia and the United States, according to a study published Monday. Soot would cloud out skies, collapsing harvests and leading to global famine, researchers wrote.
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Some two-thirds of the world could starve to death in the event of a nuclear war between Russia and the United States, according to a Rutgers University-led study published Monday.
“The data tell us one thing: We must prevent a nuclear war from ever happening,” climate scientist Alan Robock, co-author of the study, said in a statement.The researchers examined how wind patterns could spread smoke and fire from nuclear attacks and cloud skies above major food exporters such as the United States and China.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and stepped-up Chinese military drills near Taiwan have renewed fears of nuclear conflict. After war broke out in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his nuclear forces were “combat ready,” stoking fears of possible nuclear conflict with the West 30 years after the end of the Cold War.
China has conducted numerous drills around Taiwan following recent trips by U.S. lawmakers to the island, which Beijing claims as its territory. Instability in the Taiwan Strait comes as Western experts warn that Beijing isNuclear war would compound existing threats to food security. Climate change, the war in Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic have already severely disrupted global food production.