The worst possibility is that the immense smoke could lower temperatures in the Indian subcontinent a few degrees, disrupting the monsoon rains that are essential to crops for the nations of that area.

　　CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS. Chemical weapons work fast, then disappear. They were used during the Iran-Iraq war, sometimes with devastating consequences for combatants, but with almost none for the environment. Since the gulf war began, allied planes and missiles have pounded Iraqi chemical-weapons plants that manufacture mustard gas and nerve agents. Because the plants are surrounded by a 25 sq.km exclusion zone, the likelihood of a deadly plume invading populated areas is small. Explosives would also tend to break the gases down into less deadly substances. Harmful chemicals that penetrated the soil would disappear without a trace within a few weeks at most.

　　Biological agents could be a different problem. Iraq is believed to possess some of them. In open air, most of those die within hours. But if they penetrate the ground, they can survive in a dormant state for decades, waiting for new victims.

　　military a.军事的,军用的 n.军队,武装力量

　　militant a.激进的,好斗的 n.激进分子,斗士

　　cannon n.大炮,火炮

　　artillery n.火炮,大炮

　　armor n.盔甲,装甲,保护物

　　pistol n.手枪

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