The map above simulates a 300-kiloton nuclear airburst over Beijing, China — roughly the size of a modern deployed warhead. The coloured rings show the estimated fireball, the zones of heavy, moderate and light blast damage, the reach of the thermal flash and the ionizing-radiation dose. Drag the marker or change the weapon in the full simulator to explore other scenarios.
The metropolitan area is home to about 21.9 million people — the rings above are drawn to real scale over their homes.
The marker is on Tiananmen Square. The 1.9 km zone of total destruction covers the Forbidden City, the Great Hall of the People, Zhongnanhai and Qianmen; the 4.7 km collapse ring reaches Wangfujing, the Temple of Heaven, Beihai Park and the Second Ring Road on three sides. Third-degree burns extend to about 7.5 km over the Drum Tower hutongs, Beijing railway station, Xidan and the Lama Temple; the 14.5 km ring of broken windows reaches the CBD at Guomao, the Olympic Park's southern edge, Beijing West station and the Third and Fourth Ring Roads.
Beijing has about 22 million residents and the flat, gridded city inside the rings offers no natural shelter. China's modern warheads are estimated in the 200–500 kiloton range, and the DF-41 missile can carry several of them; this scenario is roughly one such warhead. For the largest weapon in the US stockpile over the same point, see the 1.2-megaton B83 scenario.
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