[ELI5] What is “nuclear winter?” And if we can cause a winter-like reaction in our atmosphere, could it potentially counter global-warming?

Question

[ELI5] What is “nuclear winter?” And if we can cause a winter-like reaction in our atmosphere, could it potentially counter global-warming?

In: Physics

Answer 1

It’s theoretical global cooling that would be caused by all the soot kicked up into the atmosphere by a small nuclear war

The soot would limit how much EM radiation the planet gets, y’see.

I guess it COULD offset global warming, but… y’know. You’d have to have a nuclear war to start it off. Not really worth it when there are easier options.