1A The Environmental Cost Of War
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Mar 26, 2026 Patrick Bigger, research director quantifying conflict emissions; Nita Crawford, international relations professor studying political and environmental costs of war; Doug Weir, director tracking conflict-related environmental harm. They discuss massive carbon releases from recent strikes, toxic smoke and water contamination, challenges of monitoring damage, military emissions and reporting gaps, and how reconstruction and energy shocks deepen long-term environmental impacts.
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How Oil Facility Strikes Created Black Rain In Tehran
- Attacking civilian oil facilities released complex pollutants including CO, SO2, NOx, VOCs, soot and trace metals into Tehran's air.
- Tehran's basin-like topography and overnight atmospheric patterns trapped smoke and caused black oily rain to fall into the city.
Practical Steps Residents Can Use During Smoke Events
- Reduce exposure by staying indoors, using air filtration, and wearing masks like N95s; even a bandana helps against larger particles.
- These measures help but are limited in wartime when shelter, electricity, and supplies may be unavailable.
Wars Produce Nontrivial Climate Emissions
- Conflict emissions add to the shrinking global carbon budget; the Iran strikes produced ~5 million tons of CO2 in two weeks.
- While not enormous globally, these voluntary emissions worsen climate targets and illustrate foreign policy's climate relevance.