Editing Nuclear winter (section)

=== Ozone depletion ===
Nuclear detonations produce large amounts of [[NOx|nitrogen oxides]] by breaking down the air around them. These are then lifted upwards by thermal convection. As they reach the stratosphere, these nitrogen oxides are capable of catalytically breaking down the [[ozone]] present in this part of the atmosphere. [[Ozone depletion]] would allow a much greater intensity of harmful [[ultraviolet radiation]] from the sun to reach the ground.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kao |first1=Chih-Yue Jim |last2=Glatzmaier |first2=Gary A. |last3=Malone |first3=Robert C. |last4=Turco |first4=Richard P. |title=Global three-dimensional simulations of ozone depletion under postwar conditions |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |date=1990 |volume=95 |issue=D13 |page=22495 |doi=10.1029/JD095iD13p22495|bibcode=1990JGR....9522495K }}</ref>

A 2008 study by Michael J. Mills et al., published in the [[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]], found that a nuclear weapons exchange between Pakistan and India using their current arsenals could create a near-global [[ozone hole]], triggering human health problems and causing environmental damage for at least a decade.<ref>{{cite Q|Q24657259}}</ref> The computer-modeled study looked at a nuclear war between the two countries involving 50 Hiroshima-sized nuclear devices on each side, producing massive urban fires and lofting as much as five million metric tons of soot about {{convert|50|mi|km}} into the [[stratosphere]]. The soot would absorb enough solar radiation to heat surrounding gases, increasing the breakdown of the stratospheric [[ozone layer]] protecting Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation, with up to 70% ozone loss at northern high latitudes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bardeen |first1=Charles G. |last2=Kinnison |first2=Douglas E. |last3=Toon |first3=Owen B. |last4=Mills |first4=Michael J. |last5=Vitt |first5=Francis |last6=Xia |first6=Lili |last7=Jägermeyr |first7=Jonas |last8=Lovenduski |first8=Nicole S. |last9=Scherrer |first9=Kim J. N. |last10=Clyne |first10=Margot |last11=Robock |first11=Alan |date=2021-09-27 |title=Extreme Ozone Loss Following Nuclear War Results in Enhanced Surface Ultraviolet Radiation |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JD035079 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres |language=en |volume=126 |issue=18 |doi=10.1029/2021JD035079 |bibcode=2021JGRD..12635079B |s2cid=238213347 |issn=2169-897X}}</ref>