A part of your question might be answered by the size of nukes. They are massive bombs that destroy huge areas. But when you consider that in context of even a single ocean, they are minescule.
Consider the biggest nuclear weapon ever tested, the Tsar Bomba. The blast radius was 65 *miles*. This bomb was so big that the blast radius actually went off the curve of the Earth (the explosion was straight out, but the Earth continued to curve).
That is certainly enough to kill a city. Chicago for instance is about 50 miles wide.
But they don’t test in cities. The pacific ocean is 12,500 miles wide. It is 63 *million* square miles. Even the largest bomb ever made would be literally a splash in the ocean.
Now, consider that the Tsar Bomba is too big to actually use outside of a test. Most nukes are *significantly* smaller.
To answer a follow up question, this is exactly why nuclear powers like the US and Russia have so many weapons. If you want to get into a nuclear war, you need a lot of bombs to cover enough ground. Especially when you expect a large portion to get intercepted.
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