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The threat of nuclear war looms larger than ever in 2026, and just months after the Doomsday Clock moved closer to midnight than ever before, we imagine it’s nudging even further forward thanks to the escalating war with Iran.
In the aftermath of 2025's 12-day war between Israel and Iran, President Donald Trump announced that the USA was making moves on the latter with Operation Epic Fury. Joining forces with Israel and making the most of its military deals with artificial intelligence giants, a series of futuristic weapons was launched against the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, Karaj, and Kermanshah.
The President of the United States had previously warned that things could escalate if Iran didn't surrender its nuclear program, while there have been increased fears that the likes of North Korea and Russia could unleash their own nuclear arsenals.
President Vladimir Putin is no stranger to threatening his enemies with a nuclear World War III, and if the bombs start falling, there will undoubtedly be a cataclysmic loss of life.
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We've recently covered what would happen in the first 30 minutes if nuclear war were declared, as well as which US states would be the 'safest', but in reality, experts claim that there are only two countries in the world that would likely survive an all-out war.
Newsweek put a slightly more optimistic slant on things back in 2024, claiming that Australia and New Zealand wouldn't be the only safe havens on the planet. Using data previously published in Nature Food, we're told that some 6.7 billion people would die of starvation as a result of nuclear war.
With that being most of the human race, there are some countries that would see no population loss, with these including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Haiti, Iceland, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
On the Newsweek map, these are marked in green because "food consumption can support the current physical activity in that country."
Countries marked in red would face mass starvation, with these unsurprisingly being the likes of the United States of America, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Most of Russia and swathes of Europe would apparently be decimated, although some nations wouldn't face starvation but would reduce calorific intake to a level where it "would cause people to lose weight, and only sedentary physical activity would be supported."
Looking at a "partial livestock case" where 50% livestock grain would be used for human survival and the other 50% to feed the surviving animals, it's said that 312.2 million people would die in the USA. This marked 98% of the US population in 2024.
The likes of Australia and New Zealand have been highlighted as potential safe zones for the human race due to their remoteness and because they produce more than enough wheat to support their residents.
Then again, those of us who survive being bombarded by bombs and somehow get out of our own countries before starving to death are likely to head there. If this is the case, Australia, New Zealand, and the other supposed 'safe' countries are sure to be overrun by refugees and soon be in a situation no better than the rest of us. Either way, it's a pretty grim look at what our future could look like.
