What Happens If Nuclear Weapons Are Used?

2. Civilians are the main victims. 

 The extreme destruction caused by nuclear weapons cannot be limited to military targets or to combatants. Civilians are more often the majority of casualties from a nuclear attack; those within range are either killed or suffer long-term health implications from a nuclear blast and resulting radiation.

Even those in neighbouring cities or countries would suffer from the impact of a nuclear detonation.

Due to the inability of nuclear weapons to distinguish between civilians and militants, and the lack of control we have over nuclear blasts makes them a prime example of inhumane weaponry that needs to be outlawed.

3. They lead to high levels of radiation.

 Nuclear weapons produce ionizing radiation, which kills or sickens those exposed, contaminates the environment, and has long-term health consequences, including cancer and genetic damage.

The legacy of nuclear testing means that up to 2.4 million people worldwide will die from illnesses linked to nuclear testing in the twentieth century.

Even the production of nuclear weapons has an effect on the environment. Producing the explosive materials used in nuclear weapons leads to long-lasting radioactive pollution

4. They could lead to climate disruption and worldwide famine.

Use of less than one percent of the nuclear weapons in the world could disrupt the global climate and threaten as many as two billion people with starvation in a nuclear famine.

The thousands of nuclear weapons possessed by the US and Russia could bring about a nuclear winter, destroying the essential ecosystems on which all life depends.

5. Humanitarian aid wouldn’t be provided to victims.

There would be no humanitarian response. Physicians and first responders would be unable to work in devastated, radioactively contaminated areas.

Even a single nuclear detonation in a modern city would strain existing disaster relief resources to the breaking point; a nuclear war would overwhelm any relief system we could build in advance.

Displaced populations from a nuclear war will produce a refugee crisis that is orders of magnitude larger than any we have ever experienced.

6. Widespread implications to health and the environment.

 Whether or not they are detonated, nuclear weapons cause widespread harm to health and to the environment. Those that have nuclear weapons are unable to fully control them, making them a constant liability.

7. Misuse of public funds.

Spending on nuclear weapons detracts limited resourcesaway from vital social services. Currently states that are armed with nuclear weapons spend close to US $225 million a day on nuclear forces.

For more information, find out the 10 things you should know about nuclear weapons.

The truth about Nukes