WHAT IF WORLD WAR III HAPPENED?

World War III (WWIII or WW3) and the Third World War are names given to a hypothetical

third worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and II. The term has

been in use since at least as early as 1941. Some have applied it loosely to refer to limited or

smaller conflicts such as the Cold War or the War on Terror, while others assumed that such a

conflict would surpass prior world wars both in its scope and in its destructive impact.

Human history has been full of battles and wars, some big and some small. But if World War 3

were to happen, it might be humanity’s biggest battle yet.

Advanced technology, massive troops, and more intensive strategy would all be involved. Why

would something like this happen?

What countries would join in? And how would this war be fought?

People have talked about a possible World War 3 for decades. It almost started in the 1960s,

during the Cold War between Russia and the United States, but thankfully we managed to avoid

that.

But let’s say we aren’t lucky enough to avoid it next time. When might World War 3 happen?

Well, it’s tough to say. A world war could start due to prominent political figures getting killed,

intelligence threats or fighting over valuable resources.

Talking about it like this makes the chances of a war happening sound likely. But the chances

are actually a lot lower than you might think.

Since 1945 the world has seen many different battles – Vietnam, Afghanistan and dozens of

different civil wars. We should keep in mind that in order for a world war to happen, it needs to

involve the entire world.

And the structure of the world has changed even more since 1945. Countries simply aren’t as

closely allied as they used to be. Militaries are even more skilled and stronger than they were.

Most likely, millions of people would die, and the Earth would take decades, if not centuries, to

recover – especially with some of the weapons and tools countries would be using in todays

age. Soldiers on the ground might have exoskeletons.

These are a metal frames around the soldier’s body that augment their strength. Although this

probably won’t turn them into Robocop, it would make it easier for soldiers to carry heavy

equipment over long distances. Weapons that can bend around corners may also be a

possibility.

And instead of seeing the war fought in the sea or the sky it could actually be fought in space.

Militaries could fight over weaponized satellites that could affect what’s below them.

Although a lot of this stuff sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, we should keep in mind

that these weapons are scary, and hopefully no one will ever need to use them. After all, things

like this are meant to kill people.

But there may not be many soldiers on the ground. The war of the future might be fought on

computers. Drones, artificial intelligence and robots could be the only things on the battlefield.

But there’s also a chance that acts of war in the future might not involve any violence at all.

Hacking into other countries’ computers, as well as power grid shutdowns, are all a possibility.
But what would this war be about, anyway? Well, some people predict it could have to do with

resources, specifically water. Since fresh water is such a scarce, yet valuable resource, nations

may begin to fight over it as it continues to deplete.

But hopefully this war won’t go on forever. So how could it end? Well, one reason, and a main

reason why a world war hasn’t happened yet has to do with these things.

During World War 2, the United States dropped nuclear bombs on Japan, killing over 100,000

people. The cities involved took decades to recover. The two nukes used in World War 2 would

pale in comparison to the modern nukes we have today. Oh, and by the way, there are nearly

14,000 nuclear warheads around the world — some are held by America, Russia, China, and

other countries.

A nation can have all the resources, people, and strategy they want, but if a nuke gets dropped

on them, then it’s game over. And if one country drops a nuke, what’s to stop another country

from doing the same? And then another? And another? And soon, the world would be

destroyed.

So who would win this war? Absolutely no one. A full-on World War 3 would have a massive

impact on the world as a whole. It’s safe to say that the world would never be the same.

But try not to lose sleep over this. After all, a third world war like this, with dozens of countries

involved, is incredibly unlikely to start tomorrow. If two countries get into a fight, it’s more

likely that countries that aren’t directly involved will stay that way, and let the other nations

fight for themselves. But wars are terrible. Let’s try to avoid them.

Due to the development and use of nuclear weapons near the end of World War II and their

subsequent acquisition and deployment by many countries, the potential risk of a nuclear
devastation of Earth's civilization and life is a common theme in speculations about a Third

World War. Another major concern is that biological warfare could cause a very large number

of casualties, either intentionally or inadvertently by an accidental release of a biological agent,

the unexpected mutation of an agent, or its adaptation to other species after use. High-

scale apocalyptic events like these, caused by advanced technology used for destruction, could

potentially make the Earth's surface uninhabitable.