India Pakistan war would kill 125 million - with global starvation to follow
Experts are sounding the alarm that over 100 million people could perish if India and Pakistan were to start a catastrophic nuclear war.
A study published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has revealed that millions would die "immediately" if the ongoing tensions between the two nations escalated to nuclear conflict, with the potential release of massive dust clouds into the atmosphere possibly causing global famines affecting "billions". This stark warning comes in the wake of India's missile and drone strikes on Pakistan early Wednesday, which resulted in at least 26 fatalities.
Pakistan has branded these strikes as an "act of war" and asserts it downed several Indian jets in response.
The situation has intensified following an attack on tourists in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, which India attributes to terrorist groups operating from Pakistan.
With both countries possessing nearly 400 nuclear weapons collectively, scientists caution that the consequences of their use would have repercussions well beyond South Asia, reports the Mirror. India fires missiles at Pakistan and disputed Kashmir region as WW3 fears grow. Local residents examine a building damaged from a suspected Indian missile attack near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, in Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (Image: AP)
Research conducted in 2019 by the Department of Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University in the US concluded that, aside from the immediate deaths of approximately 125 million people due to the initial nuclear explosions, subsequent colossal fires could inject between 16 million and 36 million tons of soot into the upper atmosphere. This soot would then encircle the globe within weeks.
This thick soot would cut the sunlight reaching Earth's surface by 20% to 35%, causing chilling temperatures down to two to five degrees.
A drop in sunlight and falling precipitation levels could set off a domino effect on agriculture, possibly leading to widespread famines affecting billions. Security forces patrol the street near Wuyan area of Pampore in south Kashmir where reportedly an unknown fighter jet fell from the sky as India carried out strikes in Pakistan on May 7, 2025. (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Nuclear fallout would scatter radioactive toxins far and wide. Scientists say the smoky skies might take up to ten years to clear.
Speaking at the time, co-author of the study, Alan Robock, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University, remarked: "Nine countries have nuclear weapons, but Pakistan and India are the only ones rapidly increasing their arsenals."
Amid continued tensions, particularly over Kashmir, understanding the repercussions of a nuclear conflict is crucial, he said: "Such a war would threaten not only the locations where bombs might be targeted but the entire world."
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