Global Warming vs. Nuclear Winter

New Scientist reports on a study on the effects of a "small-scale" nuclear war, with the detonation of 100 Hiroshima-sized weapons.

A regional exchange of relatively small nuclear weapons could plunge the world into a decade-long "nuclear winter", destroying agriculture and killing millions, according to a new study.

...Even taking global warming into account, the models predict that the cooling of the planet for a decade following the exchange would be nearly twice as great as the global warming of the past century, causing colder temperatures than Europe’s "Little Ice Age" of the 16th to 18th centuries.

Although this might look perversely like a welcome counter-balance to global warming, the researchers say it would cause equally devastating changes in weather patterns and rainfall. That, plus reduced sunlight, would shorten growing seasons and destroy crops worldwide, to the detriment of all.