Expert Reveals: Only Two Places in the World Are Safe During a Nuclear War – and They’re Very Far Away

There aren’t many places on the globe one would wish to go in the event of a global nuclear war – but according to a leading expert, there are actually two geographical oases that stand out as possible refuges. 

With rising tensions in the Middle East and talk of nuclear threats once again creeping into the news, it’s no wonder the question has arisen: Where do you go when the world is burning?

The answer – according to journalist and author Annie Jacobsen – is: Australia and New Zealand.

A Safe Haven in the Southern Hemisphere

Jacobsen, who has previously written extensively about national security and disaster scenarios, stated in an interview with Steven Bartlett’s The Diary of a CEO podcast that these two countries would be among the few places where agriculture – and thus survival – could still be maintained after a nuclear apocalypse.

“Places like Iowa and Ukraine will be covered in snow for ten years. When agriculture collapses, people die,” she explains. And that’s not to mention radiation, sunlight becoming dangerous, and a world where people are forced underground to survive.

But in Australia and New Zealand? There is still the possibility to grow food, breathe the air, and – perhaps – continue civilization in some form.

5 Billion Dead – Minimum

Jacobsen refers to a study by Professor Owen Toon, which estimates that up to five billion people would die of starvation as a result of a nuclear winter – on top of the many who would vanish in fireballs and shockwaves.

And it’s not a trivial matter we’re discussing here. According to Scientific American, attacks on missile silos in the U.S. – typically in states like Montana and North Dakota – would create explosive fireballs with the power of 100,000 tons of TNT, vaporizing everything nearby.

Newsweek has even tried to map out which states in the U.S. could possibly fare best. But let’s be honest – if it all goes off, “best” is a relative term.

So… Should We Move?

Not necessarily. But if you suddenly feel an irresistible urge to go on an extended backpacking trip in New Zealand or build an off-grid cabin in Tasmania, then maybe it’s not such a bad idea after all.

Of course, this isn’t about panic. But it’s interesting to see how geography – in a nuclear age – can still be the difference between life and death.

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