Lake Nyos disaster

Lake Nyos disaster
Lake Nyos as it appeared eight days after the eruption
Lake Nyos disaster is located in Cameroon
Lake Nyos disaster
Lake Nyos disaster
Date21 August 1986 (1986-08-21)
LocationCameroon
Coordinates6°26′N 10°18′E / 6.44°N 10.30°E / 6.44; 10.30
TypeLimnic eruption
Deaths1,746
Non-fatal injuries845

On 21 August 1986, a limnic eruption at Lake Nyos in northwestern Cameroon killed 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock.[1]

The eruption triggered the sudden release of about 100,000–300,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).[2][3] The gas cloud initially rose at nearly 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph; 28 m/s) and then, being heavier than air, descended onto nearby villages, suffocating people and livestock within 25 kilometres (16 mi) of the lake.[4][5]

A degassing system has since been installed at the lake, with the aim of reducing the concentration of CO2 in the waters and therefore the risk of further eruptions. Along with the Lake Monoun disaster two years earlier, it is one of only two recorded limnic eruptions in history.[6]

  1. ^ Hammond, Trevor (1 August 2018). "Lake Nyos Disaster: August 21, 1986". Fishwrap. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  2. ^ Socolow, Robert H. (July 2005). "Can We Bury Global Warming?". Scientific American. Vol. 293, no. 1. pp. 49–55. Bibcode:2005SciAm.293a..49S. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0705-49. ISSN 0036-8733. JSTOR 26061071. PMID 16008301.
  3. ^ Mathew Fomine, Forka Leypey (2011). "The Strange Lake Nyos CO2 Gas Disaster". Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies. 2011–1. ISSN 1174-4707. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  4. ^ Camp, Vic (31 March 2006). "Lake Nyos (1986)". San Diego State University. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
  5. ^ Smolowe, Jill; Phillips, B. J. (8 September 1986). "Cameroon the Lake of Death". TIME. Vol. 128, no. 10. pp. 34–37. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  6. ^ Ohba, Takeshi, et al. "A Depression Containing CO2-Enriched Water at the Bottom of Lake Monoun, Cameroon, and Implications for the 1984 Limnic Eruption." Frontiers in Earth Science, vol. 10, May 2022, p. 766791. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.766791.