The Effects on the Atmosphere of a Major Nuclear Exchange

Several groups have published studies on the possible environmental and atmospheric consequence of a nuclear war. The major theory is that a nuclear war would produce a hemispherewide climatic disaster. This disaster, called nuclear winter, would arise as a result of changes in the earth's radiation balance due to a tremendous increase in smoke and dusts in the earth's atmosphere generated by numerous explosions and ensuing fires. This paper reviews a study ''The Effects on the Atmosphere of a Major Nuclear Exchange'' issued by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. The report is basically a very conservative document, but it gives credibility to the theory that a major nuclear war would result in a Nuclear Winter.