The map above simulates a 300-kiloton nuclear airburst over Washington, DC, USA — 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 6.3 million people — the rings above are drawn to real scale over their homes.
The marker is on the National Mall. The 1.9 km zone of total destruction covers the White House, the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian museums on the Mall, the Treasury and the federal triangle; the 4.7 km collapse ring reaches the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, Union Station, the State Department and, across the Potomac, the Pentagon's northern edge. Third-degree burns extend to about 7.5 km over Georgetown, Capitol Hill, Howard University, Arlington Cemetery and Navy Yard; the 14.5 km ring of broken windows reaches Reagan National Airport, the National Cathedral, Alexandria's northern edge and the Maryland line at Silver Spring and Takoma Park.
About 700,000 people live in the District and roughly 2.5 million inside the outer ring. The city is low and open, with no terrain shadow, though its height limit means the blast would not be channelled by tall buildings as in New York. Washington has been the most-targeted point on US soil in every nuclear war plan since 1949. See the 800-kiloton Topol scenario and how a weapon would be delivered.
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