Survival is something that has been hardwired into all living things in nature and therefore it is only natural for us to be anxious about any end of the world scenario that we might be in the danger of facing one day.
There are various ways that life on Earth could get wiped out and each seems scarier than the other. There is the possibility of an asteroid striking our planet, then there are epidemics, global warming, nuclear war and some others.
Supervolcano eruptions are another way that are quite often suggested as having the potential to wipe us all out as they are some of the deadliest and most violent events in nature.
But can a single supervolcano eruption at a single location in the world end all life across the whole world? It seemed pretty unlikely to me and so my research began.
What Are Supervolcanoes?
According to the USGS, a volcano that has the ability to erupt deposits greater than 1000 cubic kilometres is termed as a supervolcano. Supervolcanic eruptions occur when the magma in the mantle region of the Earth, rises to the crust but is unable to break through and therefore ends up creating huge amounts of pressure.
Overtime the pool of magma builds up and creates even more pressure and when the crust is no longer able to contain the pressure, there is a violent eruption of toxic gases, lava, ash and debris.
The damage that a supervolcano eruption will cause, depends on, whether it is a category 7 or category 8 eruption. Category 7 eruptions have a 10% chance of occurring every century and category 8 eruptions happen once in a million years. Keep in mind that there are 5-10 active supervolcanoes on the planet.
Although category 7 eruptions are a lot more deadly than your average volcanic eruption, it is the category 8 eruptions that have the most potential for damage. In fact, according to a Michio Kaku (a theoretical physicist), a category 8 eruption of the Yellowstone Supervolcano, would “tear the guts out of USA. Out of 50 states, only 30 states would survive from immediate impact.”
That just goes to show you the tremendous explosive scale of the event that would be nothing less than an apocalypse. But in case you are thinking you will be safe if you’re located far away from one of these supervolcanoes, think again.
Aftermath of a Supervolcanic Eruption
The one thing that might be going in our favour is the fact that, unlike an earthquake, a volcanic eruption would give warnings weeks in advance which could help save millions of lives.
The eruption itself will be so powerful that it might trigger many earthquakes in the region and bursts of lava flow moving at speeds of hundreds of kilometres per hour, which could kill thousands to hundreds of thousands of people.
But the biggest killer would be the poisonous gases that will quickly spread across vast areas making air unbreathable for people and most would die due to suffocation. The ground would get covered by a 10cm layer of volcanic ash which would kill plants and trees leading to agricultural devastation.
Air travel would be impossible and water supplies would get clogged. Also, electricity transmission lines would fail and there would be chaos and panic everywhere. There would also be an immediate global climate change setting most of the world into a volcanic winter, with reduced global temperatures, and rains of sulphuric acid.
Also, with the way the global economy works today, any of the supervolcanic eruptions, especially the one in Yellowstone Park, would mean a global economic collapse plunging the entire world into a depression far worse than that of the 1930s.
So, people in the vicinity would die immediately, people who are somewhat away would suffocate, people further away would get affected by climate and shortage of food and the rest of the world would survive, but would be left in a worse situation.