Newsweek has looked at the potential fallout of the U.S. using the largest nuclear weapon in its arsenal, the B-83, on capitals in North Korea, Russia and China.
The U.S. is inadvertently involved in multiple conflicts around the world in backing its allies, while also facing tensions with China over several issues including trade.
The recent escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war has led to increasing talk of nuclear war and Newsweek has looked at the impact of a Russian nuclear weapon on U.S. cities and NATO capitals.
Now, Newsweek has also looked at the impact of a U.S. nuclear weapon on the capitals of North Korea, Russia and China. It used maps created by Alex Wellerstein, a professor and historian of nuclear technology, to assess what the impact would be if B-83, the largest weapon currently in the U.S. arsenal, was used.
The fireball radius (inner yellow circle), in which everything would be vaporized by intense heat rising to millions of degrees F, would reach around 1.59 square miles. The more moderate blast damage radius (inner grey circle), covering 67.7 square miles of the blast, would destroy residential buildings and probably cause widespread fires.
Anyone within 211 square miles of the explosion (the thermal radiation radius: wider orange circle) would be at risk of suffering third-degree burns throughout the skin, «often painless because they destroy the pain nerves», which can cause severe scarring, disablement and require amputation.
