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Nuclear Famine: The Global Climate Effects of Regional Nuclear War

Learn about the catastrophic impact of regional nuclear war on agriculture, climate change, and global food security. Understand the dire consequences and how to prevent this humanitarian crisis.

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Nuclear Famine: The Global Climate Effects of Regional Nuclear War

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  1. Nuclear Famine: The Global Climate Effects of Regional Nuclear War International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  2. IPPNW Co-President Ira Helfand

  3. Climate Consequences of Regional Nuclear War Scenario 100 Hiroshima-sized bombs detonated over cities in India and Pakistan International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  4. Climate Consequences of Regional Nuclear War • 20 million fatalities • Extensive radioactive fallout • Global climate effects lasting a decade or more International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  5. Climate Consequences of Regional Nuclear War • Nuclear explosions ignite fires that burn whole cities • Soot lofted high into the atmosphere absorbs incoming sunlight • Dramatic decrease in amount of light reaching the surface • Large, rapid drops in surface temperature International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  6. Global climate change unprecedented in recorded human history Graph courtesy of Alan Robock

  7. Chart courtesy of Alan Robock

  8. Chart courtesy of Alan Robock

  9. Tambora Volcano • Erupted April 1815 • -0.7 degrees C temperature drop • Dramatic shortening of growing season International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  10. Nuclear War: The Impact on Agriculture • Sudden cooling, decreased sunlight, less rainfall shortens growing seasons; reduces crop yields • Stratospheric ozone depletiondamages crops sensitive to UV-B • Disruption of petroleum supplies affects use of farm machinery and fertilizer and pesticide production • Radioactive and toxic contaminationtakes farmland out of production • Collapse of distribution system International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  11. Nuclear War: The Impact on Agriculture International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  12. Nuclear War: The Impact on Agriculture International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  13. Nuclear War: The Impact on Agriculture International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  14. Nuclear War: The Impact on Agriculture • Decline in available food • Increases in food prices • Food inaccessible to hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest • 215 million people added to rolls of malnourished International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  15. International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  16. International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  17. Chronic Malnutrition Today • 1,800-2,200 calories minimum daily requirement • 1 billion people at or below this level of daily intake • 20% acute malnutrition in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia • 1/3 children <5 malnourished in sub-Saharan Africa International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  18. Great Bengal Famine of 1943 • Food production declined only 5% • Actually 13% higher than 1941 when there was no famine • 3 million people died International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  19. Global South + China: 2 billion victims of starvation from nuclear famine? International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  20. Epidemic Disease • Plague • Cholera • Malaria • Typhus International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  21. …further use of nuclear weapons? International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  22. Surface Air Temperatures 2 years after 150 million tons of smoke enters stratosphere Decrease in Surface Air Temperatures 2 years after full-scale nuclear war

  23. Climate effects of a full-scale nuclear conflict

  24. International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  25. International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  26. www.icanw.org International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

  27. IPPNW Co-President Ira Helfand

  28. For more information about nuclear famine, the medical and humanitarian consequences of nuclear war, and the ways to achieve a world without nuclear weapons: www.ippnw.org International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

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