Nuclear war. Image 1 of 5. Artwork of the Earth's northern hemisphere during a nuclear war. Several huge fires and nuclear explosions can be seen on both the night and day sides of the planet. These fires and explosions would throw up so much smoke and dust into the atmosphere that it would block some of the Sun's heat and light, leading to a nuclear winter". This would manifest itself as a global fall in temperature by as much as 10 degrees, and the effect may last for years. This would lead to the deaths of plants and animals as well as humans and their crops. For a sequence showing the progression of a nuclear winter, see images T165/115-119."