nuclear winter

Definitions

A predicted drop in global temperature following a nuclear war due to dust in the upper atmosphere reducing sunlight reaching the ground.

Equivalents

Examples

“Scientists from the United States, the Soviet Union and other countries will meet⟳ in the Vatican Monday to discuss⟳ “nuclear winter,” the chilling climatic effect a nuclear war could have⟳ on the earth.”

“The global temperature declines predicted in the original (1983) nuclear winter scientific paper were 15-20°C; current estimates are 10-15°C. The two values are in good agreement considering the irreducible uncertainties in the calculations. Both temperature declines are much greater than the difference between current global temperatures and those of the last⟳ Ice Age. The long-term consequences of global thermonuclear war have⟳ been estimated by an international team of 200 scientists, who concluded that through nuclear winter the global civilization and most of the people on Earth— including those far from the northern mid-latitude target⟳ zone—would be at risk⟳, mainly from starvation.”

“When the salarians discovered them, the krogan were a brutal, primitive species struggling to survive⟳ a self-inflicted nuclear winter. The salarians culturally uplifted them, teaching them to use⟳ and build⟳ modern technology so they could serve⟳ as soldiers in the Rachni War.”

CEFR level