Definitions for "nuclear winter"
Keywords:  soot, war, smoke, hypothetical, cold
a hypothetical lowering of global temperature postulated as the aftermath of a full nuclear war. The mechanism of such an effect depends primarily on the injection into the atmosphere of small solid particles, as soot from burning forests, which reflect sunlight and cause a reduction in solar energy retained by the earth.
A potential consequence of nuclear war, where smoke from burning cities would cause a severe worldwide drop in temperatures, lasting for weeks or months with large scale ecological impacts.
A period of dark, cold weather that may be caused by the dust and smoke entering the atmosphere from the explosion of nuclear bombs.