Five billion people would die from starvation within two years of a nuclear war between Russia and the US, experts have said.
They say that 360 million people would become initially become victim, yet a famine would cause billions of casualties.
The lack of sunlight due to atmospheric soot, as a result of nuclear detonation would stop crops from growing and cause huge issues in the supply chain, the study suggests.
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The open access study is titled 'Global food insecurity and famine from reduced crop, marine fishery and livestock production due to climate disruption from nuclear war soot injection'.
The experiment was conducted by employees of Rutgers University (USA), Bergen University (Norway), Potsdam Institute for the Study of Climate Change (Germany), Louisiana State University (USA) and others.
"Atmospheric soot loadings from nuclear weapon detonation would cause disruptions to the Earth’s climate, limiting terrestrial and aquatic food production," the study reads.
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"Adaptation measures such as food waste reduction would have limited impact on increasing available calories.
"We estimate more than two billion people could die from nuclear war between India and Pakistan, and more than five billion could die from a war between the United States and Russia—underlining the importance of global cooperation in preventing nuclear war."
The research team claims that the 'only long-term solution' is the 'banning' of nuclear weapons.
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They want the likes of the UK, France, the US, Israel, Russia, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea to sign up to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
“The data tell us one thing: We must prevent a nuclear war from ever happening,” said Alan Robock, distinguished professor of climate science in the department of environmental sciences at Rutgers.
“The world has come close to nuclear war several times. Banning nuclear weapons is the only long-term solution.”
He added: "Our work makes clear that it is time for those nine states to listen to science and the rest of the world and sign this treaty."
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Earlier this month Russian president Vladimir Putin admitted that no one could win a nuclear war.
"We proceed from the fact that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be unleashed, and we stand for equal and indivisible security for all members of the world community," he said.
However, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in March: "The prospect of nuclear conflict, once unthinkable, is now back within the realm of possibility."
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Topics: World News, Russia, US News
Anish Vij