With the Doomsday Clock as close to midnight as ever before and comparative nuclear arsenals being discussed more on the news than in an episode of The Americans, there’s no better time to get educated on the effects of nuclear war. Thankfully, this adorable little cartoon from the people at AsapSCIENCE is here to illustrate exactly how and why we’re all going to die.
The video goes step-by-step through the aftermath of dropping a one-megaton bomb (about 80 times the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima), noting that all of these effects can be altered by weather, location, and whether the bomb explodes mid-air or on the ground. Thanks to these cutesy infographics, we now know how close we would need to be to blast site in order to vaporize and about the lasting, deadly effects of fallout radiation. So fun!
It should also be noted that this would all be the result of one relatively small nuclear bomb being dropped. The effects of an all-out nuclear war would be exponentially worse. So, if these cartoonish explosions are giving you a panic attack in your makeshift doomsday bunker, take a look at AsapSCIENCE’s follow-up video, How To Survive A Nuclear War.