In an attempt to understand the effects a nuclear conflict would have on the Earth, scientists have simulated the impacts a regional nuclear war would have on the atmosphere, sea and land. The results, published in March, are cataclysmic—and if actually carried out, would affect every person on the planet.

The supposed war would involve 100 nukes, each with a yield equivalent to 15,000 tons of tnt (the same size as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima). The conflict would be regional—one nation firing nukes on another. The theoretical scenario set up by scientists involved India and Pakistan. Both of these nations are nuclear-armed, but neither are considered aggressive or imperialistically driven nations.

Nuclear war constitutes a legitimate threat in our modern day and age. The availability of nukes is increasing, and nations such as Russia—which is well-stocked with nuclear weapons—are enacting increasingly violent foreign policies. Iran is a radical nation that now stands on the cusp of obtaining nuclear warheads. Man has never in history created a weapon he has not used.

In recent years some have called into question the idea of an atmosphere-contaminating “nuclear winter” resulting from nuclear warfare. This latest report however approaches the issue not from the viewpoint of worldwide nuclear warfare, but a far smaller nuclear attack. The results conclude that, even without a “nuclear winter,” the effects could still be incredibly damaging to the Earth and last for decades.

So what would happen to you if two small nations—not Russia or America, but small nations—engaged in a nuclear war?

While you sat and heard the news of the attack for the first time, you wouldn’t realize it, but the impact on the climate would have already begun to take hold. The atmosphere would take an immediate hit.

According to the researchers, 5.5 million tons of black carbon would be thrown into the atmosphere by the immediate firestorm resulting from the strikes. This carbon would immediately begin absorbing the heat from the sun, thereby cooling the Earth below. According to the simulations, the average global temperature would drop 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. That may seem inconsequential at first, but it actually has a profound impact. If you lived in North America, Asia, Europe or the Middle East, you could expect the upcoming winter to be up to 10.8 degrees cooler, and summer would be 7.2 degrees colder.

While you were sitting, watching the news of the attack, you wouldn’t feel the change immediately, but it would come nonetheless.

The absorption of heat in the stratosphere from the carbon would accelerate the chemical reactions that tear holes in the ozone layer. Ultraviolet light would stream through at increased levels—up to 80 percent more than normal! The ozone layer protects us from these damaging rays, but just one nuclear war would be enough to shatter that barrier.

If you were living on the coast, you may start to feel the changes. The drop in temperatures would cool the oceans, which would in turn—in more frigid climates—develop sea ice. Ice reflects the sun’s rays. The expansion of sea ice would lead to temperatures dropping even further. The upper 330 feet of the ocean would experience significant cooling. But having to give up your weekly swim at the beach would be the least of your worries.

Lest you think these are short-term effects, scientists predict that the cooling would continue for 25 years!

The simulations also predict that the increase in temperature in the stratosphere will lead to a substantial reduction in precipitation. Rainfall and other forms of precipitation will drop by up to 10 percent. This inevitably means droughts and wildfires. Regions of the world that have been used to hot, wet climates will be hit hard. Places such as the Amazon rainforest will be particularly devastated by the effects of colder, drier climates.

If you didn’t live in South America, you may not think this would affect you, but it will. The increased amount of ash in the atmosphere means worldwide temperatures would drop—again.

By this stage, your home, wherever you may be, would be significantly colder and significantly drier. Even if the original nuclear conflict is over, nations will be on edge, looking for ways to secure their water supplies, which will be dwindling. The threat of resource wars will loom.

Unwilling to spend your money on a vacation to the beach, you may content yourself with a trip to the grocery store. Upon arrival though, you may find the aisles somewhat sparse.

Ever since the war, the temperature drop and the lack of rainfall, the production of food will have diminished significantly. Heavy frosts will have decimated crops worldwide, and the growing season will have dropped by 10 to 40 days annually. Food shortages will affect everyone. And all because of a war that may have been started on the other side of the world. Global famine will be a legitimate problem.

When you are cold, hungry and thirsty, you may understand just how impacting a small nuclear war on the other side of the world can be.

The scientists’ findings were published in the March issue of the journal Earth’s Future.

This is not the first time such a simulation has been conducted. In an interview with Live Science, Michael Mills, an atmospheric scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, stated that “this is the third independent model examining the effects a regional nuclear conflict on the atmosphere and the ocean and the land, and their conclusions all support each other.”

Plenty of naysayers scoff at the thought of global cooling resulting from such a war. But keep in mind, the simulation was conducted to represent two nations using 100 bombs that were the size of those used in Hiroshima. This is anything but a worst-case scenario.

Roughly 17,000 nuclear weapons exist today. The largest one ever detonated was nicknamed Tsar Bomba (King of Bombs), and was detonated in 1961 in Northern Russia. It had a blast yield somewhere between 50 and 58 megatons. That is about 1,350-1,570 times larger than the combined power of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bomb was designed to allow for twice this yield—100 megatons!

Now contemplate what would happen if two large nations such as Russia and the U.S. engaged in a nuclear war with weapons as large as Tsar Bomba. Think of the consequences that would have on the face of the planet.

These weapons exist, and the opportunity to use them is here! It is truly a frightening and horrific reality of the world we live in. In the August-September 1954 Plain Truth magazine, Herbert W. Armstrong wrote:

It’s time to wake up to the fact that these are not normal times! After nearly 6,000 years of comparative quiet, the whole world suddenly erupted in world-shaking violence beginning in 1914. But we have seen nothing, yet, compared to what is soon coming!Suddenly knowledge has increased. Scientific knowledge, technological development. Instantaneous communication, rapid transportation, frightening inventions have resulted. Man has learned at last the secret of the atom. Man has learned how to unleash powers and forces and energies of nature that can destroy human life from off this planet! …The whole earth is now shaking with convulsions, preparatory to the mightiest happenings of Earth’s history!We are now in the very crisis at the close of this present evil and unhappy world!

That’s right. This is the end of the age of man ruling man. God prophesied that man would reach the point in his history where he would be capable of destroying himself. Read it for yourself in Matthew 24:21-22. God says that except those days should be shortened, no flesh would be saved alive! (Moffatt translation). Man will undoubtedly use his nuclear weapons, but God promises that man will survive this trial of nuclear fire that he is bringing on himself.

God promises that those days will be cut short! Jesus Christ will intervene to save mankind from himself. He won’t stand by while His creation is wiped out. His intervention will see an end to man ruling over man. Christ will establish God’s government over this Earth and usher in a time of peace (Isaiah 2:4). Nuclear weapons—all weapons—will be a thing of the past.

For more on the subject of nuclear destruction and what you can do to avoid it, read late Trumpet columnist Ron Fraser’s article, “Apocalypse Now.”