The initial radiation pulse from a 1 KT device could cause 50% mortality from radiation exposure, to individuals, without immediate medical intervention, within an approximate ½ mile (790 m) radius. This radius increases to approximately ¾ mile (1200m) for a 10 KT detonation.
A nuclear device no larger than a conventional bomb can devastate an entire city by blast, fire, and radiation. Since they are weapons of mass destruction, the proliferation of nuclear weapons is a focus of international relations policy.
When the giant bomb finally detonated about 13,000 feet (4 kilometers) over its target, the blast was so powerful that it destroyed everything within a nearly 22-mile (35-kilometer) radius, and generated a mushroom cloud that towered nearly 200,000 feet (60 kilometers).
A 1,000-kiloton nuclear blast might produce third-degree burns up to 5 miles away, second-degree burns up to 6 miles away, and first-degree burns up to 7 miles away, according to one estimate from AsapScience. People up to 53 miles away could also experience temporary blindness.
THE NEXT 48 HOURS
You have been sheltered because of the potential for dangerous levels of radiation in the first 24 hours following a nuclear detonation. After 24 hours, outdoor radiation levels will have fallen significantly but may still warrant protective measures in your area.
The initial impact would likely instantly kill tens of thousands if the device were to hit a highly built-up area. Anyone up to a few miles away would suffer third-degree burns. People up to 53 miles away could experience temporary blindness.
The study published in the journal Risk Analysis describes Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu as the island countries most capable of producing enough food for their populations after an “abrupt sunlight‐reducing catastrophe” such as a nuclear war, super volcano or asteroid strike.
(To put it into perspective: The fireball for a 50-megaton weapon has a radius of about 3 miles.
As of 2019, there are 15,000 nuclear weapons on planet Earth. It would take just three nuclear warheads to destroy one of the 4,500 cities on Earth, meaning 13,500 bombs in total, which would leave 1,500 left.
In Hiroshima the general limiting radius was about 8,000 feet; however, even at a distance of 26,000 feet from X in Hiroshima, some tiles were displaced. At Mogi, 7 miles from X in Nagasaki, over steep hills over 600 feet high, about 10% of the glass came out.
The number of nuclear warheads in China's arsenal is a state secret. There are varying estimates of the size of China's arsenal. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and Federation of American Scientists estimated in 2023 that China has a stockpile of approximately 410 nuclear warheads.
The Tsar Bomba (Russian: Царь-бо́мба) (code name: Ivan or Vanya), also known by the alphanumerical designation "AN602", was a thermonuclear aerial bomb, and the most powerful nuclear weapon ever created and tested.
A new video simulates the explosion of thermal nuclear weapons in the Challenger Deep. Tsar Bomba is the most powerful nuclear bomb ever made. One bomb would be stanched, but a million could easily destroy the Earth.
The study involved looking at abrupt sunlight-reducing situations. Scientists have recently revealed that Australia and New Zealand are best placed to survive a nuclear apocalypse and help reboot collapsed human civilisation.
Explosion and heat radiation
Around the fireball, the air expands and triggers a shockwave that destroys all buildings within 2.5 miles. The destruction would be moderate after five miles, but the heat radiation would cause third-degree burns to people within a 12-mile radius.
No matter the chances of nuclear war breaking out between the United States and Russia, there's a “0.0% chance” that Russia would survive the attack, according to Schwartz. This makes the actual possibility of nuclear war look pretty slim, no matter what Putin says.
North Korea has a military nuclear weapons program and, as of early 2020, is estimated to have an arsenal of approximately 30 to 40 nuclear weapons and sufficient production of fissile material for six to seven nuclear weapons per year.
Russia could destroy New York City with a traditional ballistic missile. The flight time is about 30 minutes. However, in 2022 Russia has demonstrated its new hypersonic Satan 2 missile. Satan 2 can reach major cities in Europe in about 200 seconds.
It continues: “The corresponding radius of effect for a 1000 megaton bomb would be 100 miles, that is to say, an area of about 30,000 square miles would be affected and in clear weather would have an even more devastating effect.
But assuming every warhead had a megatonne rating, the energy released by their simultaneous detonation wouldn't destroy the Earth. It would, however, make a crater around 10km across and 2km deep. The huge volume of debris injected into the atmosphere would have far more widespread effects.
A Russian nuclear attack would likely focus on high-value targets in North Dakota or Montana.
But the vast majority of the human population would suffer extremely unpleasant deaths from burns, radiation and starvation, and human civilization would likely collapse entirely.