What would happen if a nuclear bomb was detonated in Glasgow?

This is an extract from our report “Nuclear Weapons, the Climate and Our Environment”.

Modelling by NUKEMAP shows that detonation of a 100 kiloton nuclear bomb in Glasgow city centre would generate a fireball 500 metres wide. The blast would damage structures up to 5.5 km from the detonation site.

Thermal radiation would extend over an area of nearly 50 square kilometres, from Govan Hill in the South to Maryhill in the North, bringing potentially fatal doses of radiation and third degree burns to anyone in the vicinity.

Over 73,000 people would be killed and over twice that number injured.

If the wind was blowing from South West to North East (the dominant wind direction in Glasgow), nuclear fallout would be carried towards Stirling, Perth and Dundee, covering a total area of over 4,000 square kilometres. Depending on their levels of exposure, many more people could die of radiation sickness and cancer.

Radioactive particles would contaminate soil and water, making animal products, such as milk and meat, and crops grown the area unsafe to consume.