We live in scary times – in the past few years we have seen an increasingly more determined North Korea continue with its weapons programme, under the orders of what seems to be a madman. On the other side of the world in America, things don’t seem much better, with President Trump determined to use Twitter to threaten North Korea and using phrases such as ‘Fire and Fury’ setting alarm bells ringing all over the world. At home in Britain, the recent spy poisoning scandal in Salisbury has seen relations between Britain and Russia become frostier, with the expulsion of diplomats on both sides, and accusations being thrown back and forth. Some have even referred to the situation as ‘The Second Cold War’ – for those who weren’t around during the first Cold War, they were very scary days indeed!
If the worst were to happen, and a nuclear attack was to be launched on Britain, what would it be like? Well, for a bit of an idea, watch the 1984 film ‘Threads’ – probably the most accurate depiction of the aftermath and reality of nuclear war. A single bomb, dropping on London would kill approximately 500,000 people instantly, by the blast from the bomb alone. Of course, this depends on the size of the bomb. The blast is accompanied by an intense heat, strong fast winds, and a bright light, which would blind an onlooker, and for the unfortunate people who were close enough to be hit by the heat, but not instantly vaporised, would cause their eyes to melt and slide down their face. Gruesome stuff, but this is the reality of nuclear war.
After the blast, and the firestorms that would start for miles around from the intense heat would be the fallout. The fallout would kill millions for miles around (depending on many factors, such as the size of the bomb, whether it was a groundburst or an airburst, and the way the wind carried the fallout). The most severely affected people would die in a matter of days, whilst others may take weeks to die. It would depend on how close you are to major towns and cities, as these are what will be targeted – for the best chance of survival, stock up on Vanquest gear from http://www.angloforro.co.uk/product-category/brands/vanquest/ and head out to the country. Death from radiation poisoning is slow and painful – it is worth remembering the quote from Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet Premier who saw the world on the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis – ‘After a nuclear exchange, the living would envy the dead’.