What will happen to the Earth after a nuclear war: the results of computer simulations

Nuclear weapons tests in Nevada (USA)

Many have heard of the Soviet-era horror story about nuclear winter. I still remember the phrase of BZDshnik that if a nuclear strike happens in the summer, then all the forests of our homeland will die as a result of a sharp cold snap, if the war with the use of nuclear weapons happens in the winter, then the forests have a chance to survive. I don’t know why, but I remember that phrase. Most of the horror stories of that era had no specifics. Modern technology makes it possible to say more specifically what will happen to the Earth’s climate if the nth number of nuclear bombs is dropped. As an example, an article by scientists published in the journal Earth’s Future.

During the simulation, scientists assumed that there was a military conflict, during which India and Pakistan exchanged nuclear strikes. During a hypothetical military conflict, 100 warheads were detonated, each of which is equal to the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

What happens after the conflict?
Immediately after the explosion, 5 megatons of dust will be in the atmosphere of the planet. This dust will intercept some of the heat energy coming to the planet from the Sun.
A year later, the average global temperature on our planet will fall by 1.1 ° C. In five years, global temperatures will be 1.7°C lower than before the conflict. In 20 years, the average global temperature will again be 1.1°C lower to conflict levels.
Five years after a nuclear war, rainfall on the planet will decrease by 9%, and 26 years after the conflict, rainfall will be 4.5% less than pre-war levels.
After 2-6 years after the war, the growing season of grain crops will decrease by 10-40 days depending on the latitude.
5 years after the conflict, the ozone layer of the planet will be 20-25% below the pre-war level.

Source: www.priroda.su/