More than 5 billion people are expected to die of hunger according to study. (Representative Photo)
A major global study has predicted that even a small conflict between two nations during which nuclear weapons are used would lead to worldwide famine. The study by Rutgers University further said that more than 5 billion people would die of hunger amid a full-scale nuclear war between the United States and Russia, according to Science Daily.
The university scientists studied the consequences of six different nuclear war scenarios. In the worst-case scenario, a full-scale conflict between the US and Russia would wipe out more than half of mankind, according to the study published in the journal Nature Food.
"The data tells us one thing: We must prevent a nuclear war from ever happening," said Professor Alan Roebuck, one of the authors of the study.
This comes weeks after United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres said that "humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation", reported Sky News.
Meanwhile, during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Ukraine's defence intelligence agency has warned of further Russian "provocations" at the captured Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility, while the mayor of the city where the plant is located has been shelled again, the outlet further said.
The five of the six scenarios analysed were based on lesser battles and one on a war between the US and Russia. Even the most improbable scenario resulted in hunger, with world average caloric production dropping by seven per cent within five years of the battle.
In the most extreme scenario, a full-scale nuclear battle, worldwide average caloric production fell by nearly 90% three to four years after the combat ended. Crop production would drop by 75% in two years, starving billions of people.
According to the researchers, even the smallest scenario - a 7% reduction - would cause more upheaval in global food markets than the worst abnormality ever observed.
Lili Zia, an assistant research professor at Rutgers University said that, "The nuclear war would have an even greater impact on climate change."
"The ozone layer would be destroyed by the heating of the stratosphere, producing more ultraviolet radiation at the surface, and we need to understand that impact on food supplies," she added.