Apocalypse alert: How India-Pakistan nuclear war will kill 12 million, destroy two countri

Miss Alone

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Apocalypse alert: How India-Pakistan nuclear war will kill 12 million, destroy two countries

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Ever since Sunday's deadly attack by four Pakistan-backed terrorists at an Indian Army base in Uri, emotions have been running high. Social media has been flooded with posts -- from common people to celebrities -- voicing support for a war against nuclear-armed Pakistan.
In fact, bizarre polls have surfaced on Twitter asking people if they're ready to lay down their lives in a nuclear war with Pakistan.

Sanjay Dixit ✔ @SANJAY_Dixit
Are we Indians prepared for a nuclear war for finishing Pakistan as a country. Many of us may die in the process
10:32 PM - 18 Sep 2016
46%Yes, prepared
54%No, life too precious


Sanjay Dixit ✔ @SANJAY_Dixit
Are we Indians prepared for a nuclear war for finishing Pakistan as a country. Many of us may die in the process
10:32 PM - 18 Sep 2016
46%Yes, prepared
54%No, life too precious

Both India and Pakistan have a nuclear weapon stockpile, and the anger seems to be bubbling on both sides. A conventional war could quickly escalate into a nuclear exchange, especially because India has conventional superiority over its neighbour, a fact that may well push Pakistan's hand towards the nuclear button.

However, a nuclear war means total annihilation. Here are a few things we must know about the consequences of a nuclear war before we push the government towards such a disastrous move:

IMMEDIATE EFFECT
A nuclear bomb explosion starts with an intensely bright flash, followed by a fireball, which burns everything it touches. The heat from the explosion is so powerful that it can be felt for miles away, in a "heat blast".

The fireball is so hot that it rises into the air and sucks up the ground under the blast (dirt, rock, debris) and shatters them into tiny particles. The rising fireball superheats the air and creates a massive "shock wave" that can topple concrete buildings, pick up and throw buses.

The fireball continues to rise, which causes the well-known mushroom appearance. As it rises, the fireball carries the radioactive particles high into the air, which gets spread around, leaving the area radioactive for years.

According to Nuclear Darkness, if even one per cent of the war-ready nuclear weapons were detonated in large cities, "they would utterly devastate the environment, climate, ecosystems and inhabitants of Earth".
That goes for only one per cent.

SMOKE LAYER

Nuclear explosions release black carbon upon detonation. Black carbon has the ability to absorb sunlight, and in the form of rain can kill millions in moments.
According to the Nuclear Darkness website, both India and Pakistan possess some 100 nuclear warheads with the same yield as the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. If detonated in large cities, these will create 5 million tonnes of black carbon which will quickly rise into the stratosphere and spread around the world.

The black carbon layer will shroud the sky for years to come, blocking out sunlight and resulting in a drop in the temperature by several degrees. "There would be a corresponding shortening of growing seasons by up to 30 days and a 10 per cent reduction in average global precipitation."

OZONE LAYER DESTROYED

Effects of the nuclear weapon will eat away 25 to 40 per cent of the ozone layer at the mid-latitudes, and 50-70 per cent at the northern high latitudes. This, of course, will lead to massive amounts of harmful UV rays reaching the earth.
Not to forget, the drastic change in the weather would cause a distort the ratio of global rainfall altogether.

FAMINE

Lack of sunlight coupled with drop in temperature would trigger a steep fall in agriculture and food production. Even with global support, which would anyway be limited, this will lead to acute famine.

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Like always, it will be the lower strata of the survivors that will suffer the brunt of this shortage of food. Even generations to come would literally starve to death.

ECONOMY
Environmental crisis aside, India's economy would take a blow in the gut even if we win the war and crush the enemy. Massive loss of human resource, habitable land and standing infrastructure would mean the government (and the country) would have to be rebuilt - most likely - from scratch.

LOSS OF LIVES

When the US dropped nuclear bombs 'Little Boy' and 'Fat Man' on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, more than 120,000 people died. But that was just the direct effect of the bomb. Even after 70 years, the two Japanese cities suffer from the after effects.

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If New York Times is to be believed, at least 12 million people could die at once if India and Pakistan give in to a nuclear war. And its effects will keep distorting lives for at least 20 years to come.

That is what would happen if we go to war.

So, the question is, if we go to war, would the destruction of millions of lives and our future be worth it?
 
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