The 1991 Kuwaiti oil fires are associated with which potential global climatic effect?

• A. Nuclear winter
• B. Global cooling of 2 degrees
• C. Increased rainfall worldwide
• D. No significant effect

Answer: (A)

Large-scale smoke in the atmosphere can cause global cooling by blocking sunlight. The Kuwaiti oil fires produced massive amounts of soot that rose high into the atmosphere and spread around the globe, increasing the Earth’s albedo and reducing the solar energy reaching the surface. This kind of widespread, sun-blocking aerosol effect is what people refer to when they talk about a nuclear-winter scenario—a drastic, planet-wide cooling due to airborne particulates. So the best description of the global climatic effect is a nuclear-winter–style cooling. The idea isn’t pinned to a precise amount like exactly 2°C, and it doesn’t predict more rainfall or no effect—evidence pointed to noticeable, global cooling rather than the other possibilities.