What were the effects of the heavy atmospheric nuclear testing done in the 40s, 50s and 60s on life on earth? The Tsar Bomba alone had to create some seriously irreversible fallout damage for most of the planet, right?
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Most nuclear bombs aren’t designed or used in a way that creates a bunch of fallout.
Fallout is dirt and rubble that has been irradiated, pulverized, and dispersed into the atmosphere by a nuclear explosion. To create a lot of it outside of the intended target area and its surrounding radius, you need to have the explosion center on the ground. Doing so expels a lot of fallout into the air. But it also limits the explosive radius of the device itself. And that fallout isn’t able to be controlled once its in the air because so much force is behind it. Instead of only falling on the surrounding area, it gets swept into air currents. Dropping a bomb in that manner, you could accidentally direct lots of fallout to an ally, or yourself.
As a result, most nuclear weapons are designed to explode a few hundred feet in the air. This creates a wider explosive radius which destroys more target structures, and reduces fallout that enters air currents and spreads.
That’s not to say nuclear weapons wouldn’t cause other devastating issues in a live war. Firestorms are a major concern – you set off enough nuclear bombs in an area, and it creates a massive, self-sustained fire. Like a wildfire on steroids. This can spread well outside of the blast radius, burning everything, and releasing so much soot and ash that it could significantly lower earth’s temperature, the proverbial nuclear winter.
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