Humanity, which has suffered greatly from the atomic bombs dropped in the past, naturally fears that nuclear warheads will come into play in the event of a possible war. There are new studies every day about what can happen in the world in the event of a possible nuclear war. Although the results obtained are approximate due to the numerous factors involved, each one draws attention to a new point.
The latest research into the consequences of possible nuclear war was done by the US National Center for Atmospheric Research. But this time the research focused on the indirect consequences of nuclear war rather than its direct consequences. Using data on available crop yields and fisheries resources around the world, experts shared scenarios of what we might experience in the food supply in the event of nuclear war.
A total war will drive 5 billion people to starvation:
The shared results were naturally not very encouraging. In addition to the losses to be incurred as a result of the attacks, the worldwide disruption of the food supply was putting the lives of millions at risk. For example, if the tension between two countries such as India and Pakistan results in a relatively small nuclear bombardment, it will cause 5 million tons of particles to be mixed into the atmosphere.
The result of this situation will lead the whole world to consume 8% less calories on average. In the following years, up to 225 million people will succumb to famine. In an all-out war involving giants such as the USA and Russia, 150 million metric tons of sand and dust will be added to the atmosphere. The world will be deprived of three-quarters of its calories.
Mixing stockpiles of animal feed into emergency supplies and eating what we’re currently wasting could get us to a point. But the 5 billion people who struggled to get enough food for two years after all-out war will slowly be driven to starvation. In a scenario where 250 nuclear explosions add 27 million tons of material to the atmosphere, high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere would see more than a 50% reduction in calories harvested and a 20-30% reduction in fishing reserves. In countries close to the equator, the scarcity of calories may decrease to 10%.
In some places, the effects of war will not be felt at the same level:
As it can be understood from the situation in the equator, the whole world will not be affected by this situation. So much so that in a situation where international trade collapses, the population in Australia will still be able to get at least half of their calories from spring wheat. Nuclear war would even result in minimal reductions in the yield of this crop, perhaps even a slight gain. Likewise, New Zealand’s food supply may face a much smaller impact than nations that rely on crops like rice.
While experts state that in the event of a war, there may be an intense migration to Australia and New Zealand for these reasons, it is of course not predictable how a sociopolitical turmoil that may occur will directly affect the food economy. While the results on paper show that Australia will not starve, it will of course still depend on the people.
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