Radioactive dust
The radiation of a nuclear explosion is a secondary consequence but is much more dangerous than the pressure of an explosion. According to the book "Nclear Choice for the 21st Century", phase bombs dropped on Japan have created a layer of localized radioactive dust, but modern thermal weapons will blow radioactive materials up to the Earth's atmosphere (the middle layer of the Earth's atmosphere), allowing radioactive dust to spread globally. The level of radioactive dust depends on whether the bomb is detonated on the ground or in the air.
The most serious risk was present in the 48 hours after the explosion. In the case of no snow or rain, factors that can help pull radioactive dust to the ground faster, radioactive dust particles will spread very quickly. According to Noccular War Overcoming Skills, about half of people who undergo a total radiation dose of about 350 roentgens in a few days are likely to die from acute radiation poisoning.
survivors of radioactive dust exposure are at high risk of cancer for the rest of their lives. According to the ICRC, specialized hospitals in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have treated more than 10,000 survivors of the 1945 explosions, with most of the deaths from cancer. The ICRC also said that the rate of white blood cells in victims of radioactive contamination was four to five times higher than typically seen in the first 10 to 15 years after the explosion.
Environmental disasters
Reeds and radioactive dust will have serious impacts on the environment and health of living creatures. Depending on the scale of a nuclear conflict, explosions can even affect the climate.
Ukraine is a 10% producer of the world's wheat, if a nuclear conflict occurs, radioactive dust could make landfall and affect cultivated areas. If radioactive dust is exposed to food supply, it could cause more long-term problems like cancer, said Michael May, co-head of the Center for Security and International Cooperation at Stanford University and director of the Lawrence Liverpoolmore National laboratory.
Ashes and votphoons blown into the atmosphere during a nuclear war could have a serious impact on the climate depending on the number of bombs dropped. While one or two nuclear explosions will not cause global impact, detonating about 100 bombs the size of those dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 will reduce global temperatures to below the temperatures of the little ice age, a cold spell that lasted from around 1500 to 1850, according to a 2012 analysis published in the November of Atomic Scientists.
Today's impact will be a strong and sudden climate change: The temperature in the Little ice Age has dropped by 2 degrees Celsius, a decrease greater than the global warming recorded since the start of the industrial revolution (about 1 degree Celsius). Such a sudden cold could affect agricultural activities and food supply worldwide.
According to the James Martin Center for Non-Proliferating arms Research, 30% to 40% of the US and Russian arsenals are made up of small bombs with a range of less than 500km on land and less than 600km by sea or air. These weapons will still have destructive effects near the blasting area, but will not create the worst case scenario leading to the global nuclearutdown.
