'Survival map': The few places in India that may escape a nuclear attack

Produced by: Manoj Kumar

City Targets

Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad top the list in every nuclear strike simulation due to population density and strategic value.

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Mass Casualties

A 25 kt blast over major Indian cities could kill 700,000 to 2 million instantly, while a 100 kt strike could wipe out over 2 million lives in a single city.

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Blast Radius

A 25 kt nuclear detonation would flatten everything within 1.6 km, while lethal fallout could spread across 50 km or more, contaminating vast regions.

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Nowhere Safe

Even cities not directly hit would suffer: radiation, food shortages, blackouts, and economic collapse would ripple nationwide within days.

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Rural Havens

Remote areas deep in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and the Northeast offer slightly better survival odds — but isolation won’t guarantee safety.

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Infrastructure Collapse

Hospitals, power grids, transport, and communications would be annihilated, leaving survivors cut off, injured, and scrambling for basic needs.

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Endless Fallout

Radioactive dust would poison rivers, crops, and the air itself, triggering cancer waves, genetic defects, and environmental ruin for decades.

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Refugee Nightmare

Millions fleeing radioactive zones would crush rural resources, sparking massive humanitarian breakdowns, disease, and famine.

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What Survives

Urban India would be devastated — but isolated farming villages, small self-sufficient communities, and off-grid regions could cling to survival.

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