HUMANITY AT RISK

to impact Hawaii, as it was 1,400km away.

But, the explosion caused an electromagnetic pulse (EMP), which is an intense energy field that can instantly overload electrical circuits. The sky turned red. There was radio disruption. Streetlights and telephones went out in Hawaii, California and Alaska, and six satellites above the Pacific were knocked out. The bomb was about 100 times larger than the one which was dropped on Nagasaki.

An EMP attack could irreparably cripple a country. According to the Federation of American Scientists, a large device detonated between 400km and 500km above Kansas would affect the entire US mainland.

Dr Peter Vincent Pry, executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security in America, said there were fears that North Korea was secretly developing the ability to detonate a high-altitude nuclear weapon in space. It has two earth observation satellites that were launched in 2012 and last year.

Today’s devices are electronic and computer-based. The entire way of life of a society relies on electricity and electronic technology. In a worst-case scenario, EMP events could occur with little or no warning, and have catastrophic effects.

A report by the US Congressional Research Service confirmed that a nuclear EMP attack could cause a massive blackout, and substantial damage on financial and power networks. It can collapse the entire electrical grid and directly disrupt transport systems, industry and manufacturing, satellite navigation, telecommunications systems and computers, banking and finance, and food and water infrastructure systems. Although blackouts can be restored, it would take months. This would not only have immediate effect on the population’s ability to function normally, but would also have devastating long-term effects on the country’s economic structure.

Hospitals affected by an EMP attack would become death traps and this could cost thousands of lives. In fact, it is estimated that the average US city only has enough food and healthcare provisions to last three days.

No other threat can cause such broad damage as a nuclear EMP attack and the technology for carrying out such attacks already exist. Heads of government should act with integrity and not use EMP devices to attack or threaten other nations.

An EMP strike on any nation would be catastrophic. Let us hope that something like this never happens. Nations with such destructive capabilities need to come to their senses and not put humanity at risk.