Don't Turn a Blind Eye: 6 Natural Threats to Take Seriously

Explore the looming threats of climate change, from melting glaciers and supervolcanic eruptions to monstrous landslides and thawing permafrost, and their potential impact on our planet.

ENGLISH LANGUAGES

12/31/20247 min read

Dormant Natural Threats: Potential Catastrophes Await

Introduction

Imagine if a huge chunk of land broke off and fell into the ocean, creating 100-foot waves that wipe out entire cities. Or what if a supervolcano erupted, dropping the Earth's temperature so drastically that we plunged into a new Ice Age? And how about a toxic monster buried under ice waking up, unleashing heat that devastates every corner of the planet? This isn’t some sci-fi story; these are real natural threats that could wipe out humanity in an instant. Welcome back to our blog, everyone! Today, we’re going to talk about four dormant natural threats right here on Earth.

The Doomsday Glacier: Thwaites Glacier

Scientists say that disasters capable of wreaking havoc on the world are definitely on the way, especially the so-called Doomsday Glacier. Its real name is Thwaites Glacier, but you'll find out soon why it's called the Doomsday Glacier. We all know that sea levels are rising day by day, creating new problems for humanity. However, how big the challenges will be and how much time we have left all depends on this Doomsday scenario.

Thwaites Glacier’s Ominous Impact

his glacier in West Antarctica gets more than a kilometer deep in some spots, which is even deeper than the height of the Burj Khalifa. It stretches over 120 kilometers, making it the widest glacier in the world. Covering an area of 192,000 square kilometers, it's so massive that it could fit 318 cities the size of Mumbai or 50 cities the size of Karachi inside it. For the past few years, this glacier has been melting much faster than the rest of Antarctica, contributing to a 4-inch rise in sea levels so far.

The Risk Zone: West Antarctic Ice Sheet

The most dangerous thing is its location. The Thwaites Glacier is part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, just a small piece, but its melting could lead to the entire ice sheet melting. This could cause sea levels to rise by about 3 meters or roughly 10 feet in the coming years. The reason is that the Thwaites Glacier is right in the middle of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Experts say that the fate of the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet hinges on the Thwaites Glacier. If we can’t stop it from melting, it could sink all of West Antarctica.

Global Consequences of Melting Ice

Cities along the coast will be affected by sea water, with names like Mumbai, New York, Jakarta, Bangkok, and Dhaka topping the list. In this animation, we can see the Antarctic ice sheet, which is quite thick in the middle because centuries of snowfall have built it up. As it gets thicker, the weight is causing glaciers to move out towards the Antarctic Ocean. These glaciers, which have water underneath them, are called ice shelves. Global warming is heating up both the water and the air.

Regional Differences in Ice Melting

The reason both sides of the ice shelves are melting at different rates is that the land in East Antarctica is above sea level. This means water can't reach the glaciers here, so the ice melts slowly. But West Antarctica is different; most of it is below sea level, which allows water to flow underneath and weaken it, causing it to melt faster. That's why West Antarctica is considered the most critical part of the world's ice in terms of climate change.

The Threat of Complete Collapse

To understand better, take a look at the survey map of the ground beneath Antarctica. On the east side, the land is higher than sea level, shown in red and yellow. Meanwhile, on the west side, the land is depicted in blue, which is all below sea level. The dark blue area is the lowest point, and that's where the Doomsday Glacier is located. Right now, this ice shelf is hanging over the water, but the ocean below has hollowed it out. Every year, chunks of it break off and mix into the ocean, and the water keeps eroding it from underneath.

The Unstoppable Melt

Since 1992, the ocean has eroded about 14 kilometers of this glacier. If this keeps up, the entire glacier could break off and fall into the Antarctic Ocean. The Thwaites Glacier has already raised sea levels by about 4 inches over the past 30 years. If it completely melts, it could raise sea levels by half a meter. This might not be too far off, as researchers have already found a huge crack in the Doomsday Glacier that nobody can stop now. The question isn't whether this will happen.

Time: The Critical Factor

The question isn’t whether the Thwaites Glacier will break apart, but when it will happen. And as you may already know, this could lead to a massive disaster. There’s no doubt that if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet goes, it could trigger melting in that ice sheet as well, raising ocean levels by up to 3 meters. If that happens, coastal cities will need to be evacuated immediately. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, over a billion people currently live in the areas that would be affected. When that happens, all those people will have to move to higher ground.

The Imminent Economic and Climatic Upheaval

You'll see a huge economic imbalance all over the world, plus the weather is going to change rapidly, with dangerous tsunamis, hurricanes, and floods becoming very common. Now, let's talk about the Yellowstone supervolcano. It's located in Wyoming, inside Yellowstone National Park, and it's an active volcano system that’s one of the largest and most dangerous supervolcanoes on the planet. Yellowstone isn’t just a little mountain that might erupt; it’s a supervolcano filled with a massive amount of magma, which is molten rock.

Yellowstone Supervolcano: A Global Threat

If it erupts, the effects won't just be limited to America; the whole world will face devastation. Yellowstone is inside a massive caldera that's about 70 kilometers long and 50 kilometers wide. It's like a giant crater formed after an ancient volcanic eruption. Experts believe this supervolcano erupts every 600,000 to 700,000 years. The last time it blew was around 640,000 years ago, and before that, there were major explosions 1.3 million and 2.1 million years ago. Given its past record, it's not wrong to say this.

Potential Eruption Timeline

They say the Yellowstone supervolcano could blow any time in the next 60,000 years. If it erupts, it won't just affect one country; it could easily take down the whole world. It would wipe out any city within a 1,000-kilometer radius in an instant. The explosion would send volcanic ash and gases like sulfur dioxide into the air, changing the climate globally. The ash clouds would be so thick that sunlight might not reach the ground for years.

The Impact of a Volcanic Winter

This phenomenon would cause the temperature to drop drastically, and it's called a volcanic winter. Crops would stop growing, leading to food shortages all over the world. Even those who survive might fall sick. Because of the sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere, any rain would come down as acid rain instead of regular water. Reports suggest that if Yellowstone erupted today, it could wipe out at least 70% of the world's population. Now, let’s talk about the Cumbre Vieja volcano, which is located 700 miles from Spain's northwest coast in Africa.

Cumbre Vieja: The Tsunami Source

The Canary Islands are home to La Palma, an island that was formed about 4 million years ago due to the Cumbre Vieja volcano. This volcano is still active and poses a significant threat to the world. Over the last 60 years, volcanic eruptions have created a fault line, a crack in the island that can even be seen from space. This crack is located 6,000 feet above sea level. Scientists warn that if a major eruption happens, the damage from the lava will be one thing, but a large portion of the island could also collapse into the ocean.

Mega Tsunami: A Looming Catastrophe

Geologists believe that if the fault line completely cracks, around 500 billion tons of rock will slide into the ocean at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour. This landslide will cause the ocean water to splash up to about 1 kilometer high, triggering a tsunami that will impact regions all over the world. Experts are calling it a mega tsunami, and these waves could travel 4,000 miles in every direction, severely affecting places like Europe, America, and Africa, with waves over 100 feet high.

La Palma’s Threat to Global Coasts

Big waves can shake things up not just in the ocean but also pretty far inland in coastal cities. La Palma's volcano is like a ticking time bomb that could blow at any moment, and its impact won’t just be limited to the Canary Islands; it could affect the whole world. Since this landslide is leaning westward, it’s believed that the East Coast of the U.S., especially places like Miami and Orlando, will be hit the hardest. If the cities aren’t evacuated in time, a mega tsunami could take millions of lives. And lastly, let’s talk about permafrost in our world.

Permafrost: The Hidden Pollutant

Permafrost is basically ground that stays below 0 degrees Celsius all year round. You mostly find it in polar regions, like half of Canada, two-thirds of Russia, and Tibet. This permafrost has been around for millions of years in the same condition, but that’s changing now. There’s an active layer on top of the permafrost that freezes in the winter but melts back in the summer. Below that, the permafrost stays frozen all year long.

Permafrost: Earth's Deep Freezer

Permafrost acts like a deep freezer, keeping plants, animals, and microorganisms frozen for millions of years. They get preserved there without starting to decompose. But because of global warming, the active layer of permafrost is getting deeper each year, and ancient animals are surfacing in the same condition they were in when they died. When the permafrost melts, the organic matter starts to break down, and bacteria begin to feed on it, releasing methane gas.

The Climate Risk: Melting Permafrost

Experts believe that the amount of pollution we see today is nothing compared to the four times more carbon trapped in permafrost, which is slowly leaking into the atmosphere. When that much greenhouse gas gets into the air, the average temperature around the world could rise by 8 degrees Celsius. This would cause glaciers to melt, disrupting the supply of fresh water globally and raising sea levels by up to 5 meters. We would also experience dramatic changes in weather, making it nearly impossible for people to live near the equator.

The Permafrost Meltdown

he melting of permafrost is a disaster that's coming in the future, but the truth is, that disaster has already begun. Every year, the active layer of permafrost in different parts of the world is getting thicker. A living example of this in Siberia is the Batagaika Crater, which was formed due to the melting of permafrost and the ground sinking, and it's getting bigger every year. If the melting process keeps going like this, which no one can really stop, then in the next 50 to 70 years, about 70% of the world's permafrost could melt

Conclusion:

Even if we completely eliminate fossil fuels today, it's still impossible to stop permafrost from melting. We hope you'll like and share this blog on your platform!