Regional nuclear war can push entire world into “ice age”

A nuclear war between two countries would be enough to plunge the world into a “Little Ice Age”, scientists have warned.

Researchers found that even nations not involved in the dispute would suffer crop failures and plummeting temperatures, as the soot and smoke from nuclear firestorms thousands of miles away would block out the sun, according to The Telegraph.

In the first month following nuclear detonation, average global temperatures would plunge by about 13F (-10.5⁰C) - a larger temperature change than in the last Ice Age, warned experts from Louisiana State and Rutgers universities.

As the planet became colder, sea ice would expand by more than six million square miles and 6ft (1.8 metres) deep in some basins, blocking major ports including Beijing’s Port of Tianjin, Copenhagen and St Petersburg.

The sea ice would spread into normally ice-free coastal regions, blocking shipping across the Northern Hemisphere - making it difficult to get food and supplies into some cities.

The sudden drop in light and ocean temperatures, especially from the Arctic to the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, would kill the marine algae which form the foundation marine food web - creating a famine in the ocean, effectively bringing the fishing industry to a halt.

“It doesn’t matter who is bombing whom, it can be India and Pakistan or Nato and Russia,” said Prof Cheryl Harrison, lead author from Louisiana State University’s Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences.

“Once the smoke is released into the upper atmosphere, it spreads globally and affects everyone. We must do everything we can to avoid nuclear war. The effects are too likely to be globally catastrophic.”