nuclear winter

[ noo-klee-er win-ter, nyoo- ]

noun

1. the general devastation of life, along with worldwide darkness and extreme cold, that some scientists believe would result from a global dust cloud screening out sunlight following large-scale nuclear detonations.

nuclear winter

noun

1. a period of extremely low temperatures and little light that, it has been suggested, would occur as a result of a nuclear war

nuclear winter

1. A theory first put forward in 1983 predicting that a large-scale nuclear exchange would produce enough smoke and soot to lower the temperature of the Earth significantly. Subsequent calculations indicated that the climatic effects would be much less than had originally been claimed, leading to the use of the term nuclear autumn to describe the phenomenon.

Pronunciation Note

See nuclear ( def ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of nuclear winter¹

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

Their attempts to survive after the attack make for harrowing viewing, with society breaking down as nuclear winter sets in.

From BBC

Today, with nuclear arsenals vastly larger and more powerful, scientists know that a nuclear exchange would cause “nuclear winter.”

From Salon

The second half of the film is particularly bleak, illustrating the effects of nuclear winter as Jackson’s handheld camera documents people feasting on rats and survivors struggling in a hopeless, barren world.

From Los Angeles Times

A constellation of new worries appeared alongside thermonuclear fallout: synthetic chemicals, global overpopulation, genetically modified pathogens, "ultra-intelligent" machines and the newly-discovered “nuclear winter” scenario.

From Salon

Can you elaborate on the connection between the efforts to discredit Sagan's discoveries about nuclear winter in the 1980s and climate change denialism today?

From Salon