Today, nations around the globe hold thousands of nuclear weapons in active military stockpiles. While these weapons are distributed across different continents for defense strategies, scientists sometimes examine hypothetical scenarios to understand their total power. For instance, what would happen if every single warhead were gathered in one location and they were all detonated at once?
Combining thousands of nuclear devices creates an explosion beyond normal human experience. The event would trigger firestorms, violent shock waves, long-lasting radiation, and noticeable shifts in global weather patterns.
Examining this extreme scenario goes on to show the dangers of nuclear weapons and how fragile our future could be. Click through this gallery to discover what this worst-case-scenario looks like.