Nuclear holocaust

=== Electromagnetic pulse ===
{{See also|Nuclear electromagnetic pulse|High-altitude nuclear explosion}}

An [[electromagnetic pulse]] (EMP) is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. Nuclear explosions create a pulse of electromagnetic radiation called a nuclear EMP or NEMP. Such EMP interference is known to be generally disruptive or damaging to electronic equipment.<ref name="science">Broad, William J. "Nuclear Pulse (I): Awakening to the Chaos Factor", ''Science''. 29 May 1981 212: 1009–1012</ref>

By disabling electronics and their functioning, an EMP would disable hospitals, water treatment facilities, food storage facilities, and all electronic forms of communication, and thereby threaten key aspects of the modern human condition.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}} Certain EMP attacks could lead to a large loss of power for months or years.<ref name="EMP report">{{cite web|title=Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack|url=http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/security/has204000.000/has204000_0.HTM|access-date=16 January 2016}}</ref> Currently, failures of the power grid are dealt with using support from the outside. In the event of an EMP attack, such support would not exist and all damaged components, devices, and electronics would need to be completely replaced.

In 2013, the US House of Representatives considered the "Secure High-voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage Act" that would provide surge protection for some 300 large transformers around the country.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McCormack|first1=John |title=Lights out: House plan would protect nation's electricity from solar flare, nuclear bomb |date=2013-06-17 |url=http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/lights-out-house-plan-would-protect-nations-electricity-from-solar-flare-nuclear-bomb/article/2532038 |website=[[Washington Examiner]] |access-date=2016-01-16}}</ref> The problem of protecting civilian infrastructure from electromagnetic pulse has also been intensively studied throughout the European Union, and in particular by the United Kingdom.<ref>House of Commons
Defence Committee, [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmdfence/1552/1552.pdf "Developing Threats: Electro-Magnetic Pulses (EMP)"]. Tenth Report of Session 2010–12.</ref> While precautions have been taken, James Woolsey and the EMP Commission suggested that an EMP is the most significant threat to the U.S.<ref name="EMP report"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Woosley|first1=R. James |last2=Pry|first2=Peter Vincent |title=The Growing Threat From an EMP Attack |date=2014-08-12 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/james-woolsey-and-peter-vincent-pry-the-growing-threat-from-an-emp-attack-1407885281 |newspaper=[[Wall Street Journal]] |access-date=2016-01-16 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The risk of an EMP, either through solar or atmospheric activity or enemy attack, while not dismissed, was suggested to be overblown by the news media in a commentary in ''[[Physics Today]]''.<ref name="PT2016">{{cite journal |first1=Steven T. |last1=Corneliussen |title=Conservative media sustain alarm about a possible electromagnetic-pulse catastrophe |date=2016-06-23 |doi=10.1063/PT.5.8178 |journal=[[Physics Today]] }}</ref> Instead, the weapons from rogue states were still too small and uncoordinated to cause a massive EMP, underground infrastructure is sufficiently protected, and there will be enough warning time from continuous solar observatories like [[Solar and Heliospheric Observatory|SOHO]] to protect surface transformers should a devastating solar storm be detected.<ref name="PT2016"/>