Only Australia, New Zealand May Survive Nuclear War but 5 Billion Could Die

A recent study published in the journal Nature predicts that only Australia and New Zealand could remain relatively survivable after a global nuclear war, while about five billion people could perish, Matt Jackson reported for Daily Express UK.

New Zealand and Australia could remain among the few regions capable of continuing agriculture during a nuclear winter.

The warning comes as the United States and Israel, both nuclear powers, continue missile strikes against Iran.

Meanwhile, the Taliban in Afghanistan have reportedly initiated attacks against nuclear-armed Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates said it continues to intercept missiles aimed toward Israel.

These developments have fueled fears that global conflicts could intensify in the coming weeks.

According to the peer-reviewed study, a nuclear war could trigger massive fireballs reaching temperatures of up to 100 million degrees Celsius while a global “nuclear winter” blankets the planet.

Armageddon expert Annie Jacobsen, author of Nuclear War: A Scenario, used scientific studies and defense-expert analysis to estimate the consequences if the world’s roughly 12,000 nuclear weapons were launched.

Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast, she said hundreds of millions of people would die instantly from the fireballs.

Areas that survive the initial blasts would still face devastating consequences. “Places like Iowa and Ukraine would be just snow for 10 years,” she said, referring to the prolonged agricultural collapse that would follow.

With farming systems destroyed, billions more could die from starvation.

Jacobsen estimates that about three billion people might survive the initial explosions, but their lives would be radically altered. Australia and New Zealand could remain among the few regions capable of continuing agriculture during a nuclear winter.