List of least safest UK cities to be in if WW3 broke out
WW3 fears have been growing amid the ongoing conflict following the US and Israel's strikes on Iran on Saturday (28 February).
The two joined together to deploy strikes on the Middle Eastern country, which killed Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sparking a knock-on effect around the world.
US President Donald Trump claimed the attack was aimed at ensuring 'that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon,' which was backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also said the operation was to 'remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran'.
Iran swiftly responded by launching strikes across the Middle East in retaliation, targeting Israel and US forces, but also neighbouring Arab states such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Iraq, and Jordan.
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The Iranian Red Crescent Society said that at least 787 people have died in Iran, whereas in Israel, where several locations were hit by Iranian missiles, 11 people have been killed.
The ongoing conflict has understandably sparked worry around the world, with people questioning whether a third World War could be on the cards.
Experts have said that the conflict could escalate, but there is no clear point at which it becomes World War III yet - a war hasn't been declared, but there are fears that the violence could escalate if more major powers get involved.
Though many diplomats and political leaders are calling for negotiations to avoid further violence.
From the safest countries to be in, to the most dangerous US states if there were a nuclear attack, people have been looking into exactly what would happen if the conflict did escalate.
As for the UK, The Week last year put together a report on which cities in the UK would be most at risk if there were to be a nuclear attack.
But before we get into this, please note that this is purely speculative and right now, the UK is not at risk of such a thing - not to mention the fact that the list was compiled before Saturday's strikes.
The publication reported that those with the lowest chance of survival if Britain's major cities were targeted would be people living in or around London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and Glasgow.
As The Express points out, the impact of a nuclear blast would depend on several factors, including radiation, fireball, air blast, and thermal radiation, as well as weather conditions.
Most importantly, it's crucial to be 'outside the blast zone' if a major UK city were to be targeted, so the more remote, the better.
However, even those places on the safe list are likely to still be vulnerable to radiation carried by winds, as a nuclear strike is bad news for everyone.
The publication names the remote island of Foula in the Shetland Isles as potentially the safest location in the UK in the event of a nuclear strike.
But, it's not all about location, as The Spectator outlines that you wouldn’t even be safe if you lived hundreds of miles from where the bomb dropped because the ‘nuclear winter’ would cause drastic falls in temperatures and sunshine, a global agricultural collapse, and disaster for virtually all forms of life on Earth for decades'.
But, in case you were wondering, these are the UK locations deemed the 'safest' from a potential nuclear attack:
- Cornwall
- Weymouth
- Folkestone
- Dover
- Margate
- Clacton-on-Sea
- Felixstowe
- Brixworth
- Bideford
- Aberystwyth
- Skegness
- Isle of Anglesey
- Barrow in Furness
- Lancaster
- Whitby
- Carlisle
- Dumfries
- Berwick-upon-Tweed
- Inverness
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