Humans have marveled at the incredible power of volcanoes for centuries. Earlier this month, tourists flocked to Iceland to see lava flowing from a fissure eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula. The so-called ‘Land of Fire and Ice’ experienced a surge in tourist numbers after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption.

Despite their magnetic attraction, volcanic eruptions are a major threat to humanity.Research published yesterday Nature Cambridge University’s Center for Existential Risk Research (CSER) and the University of Birmingham have found a common misconception about the deadly threat volcanoes pose to society and the planet at large. According to authors Michael Cassidy and Laura Mani, this misconception has led to a general indifference to preparing for a large eruption, even though it poses a greater risk than an asteroid impact.

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption in Tonga in January was the largest eruption recorded by the instrument. The ash was dumped over hundreds of miles of land and sea, affecting everything from infrastructure to fish stocks. According to the World Bank, the eruption damaged 36.4% of Tonga’s gross domestic product. A cut in an undersea cable cut off communications between the South Pacific country and the outside world for a full month. Injecting enough water into the stratosphere to fill 58,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, the shock wave sent a tsunami along the coastlines of Japan and the Americas. All this devastation was caused by an eruption that lasted only 11 hours. Had this gone one more time, the impact on climate, food resources, and other infrastructure would have been catastrophic.

“The Tonga eruption is the volcanic equivalent of an asteroid that has just lost Earth and should be treated as a wake-up call,” Mani wrote.

This threat will not go away. Eruptions are more common than researchers previously believed. Recent data from ice cores (long columns of glacial ice found by drilling into glaciers and mountains) show that eruptions 10 to 100 times larger than those in Tonga occur every 625 years, i.e. It shows that it occurs twice as often as previously thought. These events are classified under the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI), which measures the explosiveness of volcanoes.

There has not been a magnitude 7 earthquake in the world since the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia. An estimated 100,000 people died in the archipelago from volcanic currents, tsunamis, massive rock damage and volcanic ash that destroyed crops and homes. ADDITIONAL INCIDENTAL DAMAGES.The global temperature has dropped by 3 degrees Fahrenheit causes what scientists and historians call ‘years without summer’ and great social impact. A failed mass harvest caused famine, resulting in revolts and epidemics.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people facing an active volcano should evacuate when directed, seal all doors and windows, stay in place, and maintain a disaster supplies kit. there is. At a more macro level, the study authors emphasize the importance of real-time, targeted communication of ash fallout, gas plumes, and volcanic flows. They post that faster messaging (preferably via text message) could help prepare communities and help with disaster relief.

The author cites the Volcano Ready Communities Project in St. Vincent and the Grenadines as a recent success story. The project has evacuated 22,000 people ahead of the April 2021 eruption.

To prevent further catastrophes, CSER calls for increased research on volcanic “geoengineering,” including research to counteract the aerosols released by large eruptions. These tiny particles can block the sun and lead to a ‘volcanic winter’. CSER is also encouraging more discussion about whether to investigate ways to manipulate pockets of magma beneath active volcanoes.

“A direct impact on volcanic activity may seem inconceivable, but until the establishment of the NASA Planetary Defense Coordination Office in 2016, so did asteroid deflection,” Mani writes. increase. “The risk of a large-scale eruption that devastates the global community is significant. Current underinvestment in addressing this risk is reckless.”