War has no place in today’s modern world, but a nuclear arms race is still taking place globally. And if it were to come to a physical war, the devastation would have apocalyptic impact on the planet as we know it.

That nuclear war has a devastating impact on the nations involved is known and feared. But the butterfly effect it has on the entire world is unimaginable.  

In his TED talk, Professor Brian Toon, succinctly explains the impact of nuclear war between India and Pakistan can lead us on to global annihilation.

Even a hypothetical war between just these two nations can demolish life as we know it. As Professor Brian Toon says after just one hypothetical nuclear explosion,

It only takes about 2 weeks for the smoke to cover the entire earth. And it would rise to altitudes between 20 and 50 miles above the surface. At those altitudes it never rains, smoke would stay there for years. 

The effects of this smokey overcast are calamitous to say the least.

It would make life impossible due to temperatures plummeting the world over.

It would lead to a global hunger crisis.

And to sum it up:

War indeed has no place in the modern world. If a nuclear war were to happen, the world and life as we know it will bear the irreversible brunt.

Watch the full TED talk here.