What happens if all the nuclear bombs in the world explode today?

After watching the news, you may wonder if there are enough nuclear weapons in the world to destroy the planet. While accurate figures are confidential, the Federation of American Scientists estimates that there are now about 19,000 nuclear warheads, 95 percent of which are Russian and American, while Great Britain has about 200.

Their explosive power differs greatly: the strategic thermofuels of superpowers represent a power equal to several million tonnes of TNT (1 million tonnes of TNT is a megaton), while the nuclear warheads tested by India and Pakistan are about 100 times less powerful. But by taking care that each filling has a few megatons, the energy released from their early explosion could not destroy Earth.

However, they would create a crater 10km in diameter and two miles [2 km] deep. The large volume of radioactive waste released in the atmosphere would have the most severe effects.

They would reduce the amount of heat that reaches the earth from the sun, causing what is known as nuclear winter, with a major environmental impact. The nuclear explosion would, meanwhile, release an impulse of electromagnetic energy, which would destroy everything from national power grids to microprocessors worldwide.