The cold we forgot: Norway's missing nuclear winter preparedness
This memorandum assesses Norway's lack of nuclear winter preparedness and aims to raise awareness of the necessity of preparing for a potential nuclear winter.
AI-generated image from Midjourney
Main moments
Nuclear winter as a concept first became known towards the end of the Cold War, and refers to a situation where nuclear weapons exposure leads to massive fires and soot injections into the atmosphere, with long-term consequences for climate. Despite Norway's strong emergency preparedness tradition, preparedness for such a scenario has been neglected. Given the current unstable political tensions between nuclear states, this is increasingly problematic. The memo points out that even a regional nuclear war could have serious consequences for Norway due to consequences for climate and agriculture, but also supply lines and the economy. In order to strengthen preparedness, a division of responsibilities among relevant bodies is therefore proposed, with an emphasis on cross-sectoral cooperation. In particular, KUA, DSB, and the Food Preparedness Council should lead efforts to prepare Norway for a nuclear winter scenario.
Click to download the memo (NB: This PDF is in Norwegian).
More from Langsikt
Møt oss under Arendalsuka
I år deltar ni ansatte under Arendalsuka, og her finner du oss!
NTNU Graduation 2026: Be Morally Ambitious
If we, with the most money, education, and opportunities, had spent some of our time and money on others instead of ourselves, millions of people in the world could have had a better life.
Langsikt responds: Klein's authoritarian argumentation
Jörn Klein's criticism of Langsikt is a striking attack on a core principle of Norwegian democracy: that those in power are in contact with a wide range of organizations and knowledge actors. Only in extreme cases should authorities refuse to participate in debates because the organizers should be considered persona non grata.
How to Handle the Greatest Threats
Gyldendal's "Total Preparedness": In a short time, the security policy situation in Norway and Europe has intensified. While war and geopolitical upheavals once again dominate the news, preparedness challenges resulting from extreme weather, digital vulnerability, and complex threats have increased in both scope and complexity.