India-Pakistan nuclear war could kill 100 million

Says research paper model

The year is 2025 and militants have attacked India's parliament, killing most of its leaders. New Delhi retaliates by sending tanks into the part of Kashmir controlled by Pakistan. Fearing it will be overrun, Islamabad hits the invading forces with its battlefield nuclear weapons, triggering the deadliest conflict in history -- and catastrophic global cooling, with temperatures not seen since the last Ice Age. This scenario was modeled by researchers in a new paper published on Wednesday, which envisaged more than 100 million immediate deaths, followed by global mass starvation after megatons of thick black soot block out sunlight for up to a decade. It comes at a time of renewed tensions between the two South Asian rivals,

which have fought several wars over the Muslim-majority territory of Kashmir and are rapidly building up their atomic arsenals. They currently each have about 150 nuclear warheads at their disposal, with the number expected to climb to more than 200 by 2025.

“Unfortunately it’s timely because India and Pakistan remain in conflict over Kashmir, and every month or so you can read about people dying along the border,” Alan Robock, a professor in environmental sciences at Rutgers University, who co-authored the paper in Science Advances, told AFP. The two countries last fought a border conflict in February, but they pulled back from the brink after Pakistan returned a downed pilot to India.

India has a “no first strike” policy, but reserves the right to mount a nuclear response to any hit by weapons of mass destruction.

 

India-Pakistan nuclear war could kill 100 million

Says research paper model

The year is 2025 and militants have attacked Indias parliament, killing most of its leaders. New Delhi retaliates by sending tanks into the part of Kashmir controlled by Pakistan. Fearing it will be overrun, Islamabad hits the invading forces with its battlefield nuclear weapons, triggering the deadliest conflict in history -- and catastrophic global cooling, with temperatures not seen since the last Ice Age. This scenario was modeled by researchers in a new paper published on Wednesday, which envisaged more than 100 million immediate deaths, followed by global mass starvation after megatons of thick black soot block out sunlight for up to a decade. It comes at a time of renewed tensions between the two South Asian rivals, which have fought several wars over the Muslim-majority territory of Kashmir and are rapidly building up their atomic arsenals. They currently each have about 150 nuclear warheads at their disposal, with the number expected to climb to more than 200 by 2025. Unfortunately its timely because India and Pakistan remain in conflict over Kashmir, and every month or so you can read about people dying along the border, Alan Robock, a professor in environmental sciences at Rutgers University, who co-authored the paper in Science Advances, told AFP. The two countries last fought a border conflict in February, but they pulled back from the brink after Pakistan returned a downed pilot to India. India has a no first strike policy, but reserves the right to mount a nuclear response to any hit by weapons of mass destruction.