If World War 3 Starts Which Is The Safest Place?- By Jeffery Simpson
Let’s be real here. No place in Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, or even Africa would be safe from nuclear war and its aftermath.
I see a couple of people saying Switzerland. I highly disagree. Switzerland would have been an excellent place if it were a traditional war with boots on the ground. The issue with nuclear weapons is that they have a radius of destruction. Tsar Bomba, the largest nuke ever detonated, has a radius of at least 35 miles. And it was detonated back in 1961. Just imagine how powerful they are now, 50 years later. Here’s why each place/continent I mentioned above will not be safe.
- Europe as a whole would be a major hotbed for conflict between Russia and her potential allied states. France, Germany, and the UK would be big targets with Poland, Italy, and maybe Belgium being secondary important targets. Switzerland is right between most of the countries I just mentioned. Safest place would probably be on the Iberian peninsula in Portugal or Spain. But even they might not be completely safe as NATO members.
- Middle East needs no explanation. That’s a mini world war in and of itself.
- North America would most definitely be a target for the Russians and Chinese (assuming they are allied). Perhaps the Americans could intercept missiles from China via territories in the Pacific and deflect Russian missiles via Alaska but nothing is certain. You can bet your life that New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the areas around them would be targeted. They’re all major financial cities close to the coast. Canada would probably be nuked too but would not be as much of a target as the US. Cuba would probably be invaded and with no nuclear weapons to defend itself, it would succumb to US power. Not sure if Mexico will be forced to fight alongside the US but it will definitely be seen as a potential US ally by the opposite side.
- Asia would probably be even more bloody than Europe; China and North Korea allied vs everyone else. South Korea would need urgent help from the US but will probably be the first place in Asia to be nuked to oblivion (by North Korea). Japan would seriously need to go Shōwa-mode again if it wants to defend itself properly.
China would have conflict with most of the South China Sea nations as part of their ongoing territorial dispute; this would include Vietnam (which could draw in Thailand, Burma, and Laos too), Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. Taiwan would be either invaded or nuked. Maybe China would take over Sri Lanka as a proxy state via that 99-year leased port they’ve got. India would see that as an issue which could escalate into involving Pakistan who is benefitting from China’s belt-and-road programme.
- Australia. It’s a bit of a given. Australia is too close to China for comfort. It would be a thorn in their side. Except for the nearly inhospitable Australian heartland, most urban centres wouldn’t be safe. New Zealand might be safe but being isolated from the rest of the world by hundreds of miles of ocean while everyone is at war will not bode well for the population. Especially for such a globalised country.
- Antarctica. Let’s hope no one is stupid enough even to think about sending a nuke here. The breaking off of ice sheets would be catastrophic for the sea levels.
- Africa. Oh boy, Africa already has dozens of unstable states who routinely receive aid from the rest of the world. What’s going to happen when those donor countries have to reorient their funds to a total war economy? No more money for Africa! And that means many of those delicate internationally propped-up governments will most likely fall and descend into numerous civil wars.
For the attentive person (or if you noticed the answer’s picture), you might have noticed I missed a continent in my explanation.
Yes, South America. Now there are a couple of reasons why South America would be at least partially safe from the event of global nuclear war. One of the biggest reasons that could really work to South America’s benefit is that it is very much politically isolated from the rest of the world. South American countries typically rely more on themselves than the rest of the world. A lot of South American governments are currently aware of this and want to be more connected to the rest of the world. But without that many political ties to the world outside South America, the continent could evade conflict altogether (Venezuela is concerning though).
Externally, South America wouldn’t be seen as a target. South America doesn’t have any serious beef with anyone aside from themselves. To be honest, it’s hard to think of anything worth nuking in South America. Aside from possibly French Guiana’s Guiana Space Centre. And that’s very, very unlikely.
