Nuclear war’s effect

Press, 23 August 1984, Page 27

Nuclear war’s effect

NZPA-AFP London A nuclear war would alter the Earth’s orbit round the Sun and unleash “catastrophic consequences” in the atmosphere, an environmental expert has warned. Professor Michael Atchia said the Earth’s orbit would become more elliptical, by as much as one degree reulting in shorter, very much hotter summers and longer, much colder winters. Professor Atchia cited temperature ranges of from 500aeg Centigrade to 140. He said his prediction was based on a theory posit-, ing the countries involved in a nuclear war were on the

same side of the Earth, or what he called the “nuclear rectangle”. Just a quarter of the world’s current nuclear weapons stockpile, which he estimated was the equivalent of 1,000 billion tons of. TNT, would be sufficient to produce the devastating results, Professor Atchia said. He urged big scientific bodies, such as the United States National Aeronautics, and Space Administration, to verify his theory. Professor Atchia lectures at the Institute of Education on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.