Lake Nyos disaster

 The Lake Nyos disaster, which occurred in a lake in the Central African country of Cameroon, was one of the most devastating natural disasters that shocked the world. A lake claimed the lives of about 1,700 people in a single night. The Lake Nyos disaster is one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history. Lake Nyos is located in a large crater formed by volcanic eruptions. The lake was formed about 400 years ago. The lake's fertile volcanic soil was used for agriculture. The lake was one of the main sources of fresh water for the villagers near the lake. The villagers often saw the lake as their greatest blessing. But none of them knew about the disaster that lay at the bottom of the lake.  It was around 9:00 PM on August 21, 1986. Some people had heard unusual sounds of explosions coming from the lake. But before they knew what was happening, a large cloud rose from the lake. The poisonous carbon dioxide gas rose into the sky like a huge black cloud. This cloud, which grew to a height of more than 100 meters, began to spread towards the land. One hundred thousand to three hundred thousand tons of carbon dioxide gas spread into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide spread for about twenty-five kilometers around the lake. Since carbon dioxide is more dense than air, the gas spread silently and quickly through the valleys. But the people living around Lake Nyos were asleep, unaware of this.  Thousands of people, unaware of what was happening around them, suffocated and died within minutes after inhaling carbon dioxide. Some, unable to breathe, tried to run out of their homes. But even those who came out of their homes were crushed and died. 1,746 people were killed. About 3,200 cattle died. Most of the people in the settlements near the lake, such as Nyos, Kam, Cha, Subam, and Embam, were killed. The next morning, the sight was horrifying. Thousands of lifeless bodies were scattered for kilometers. Of those who collapsed unconscious, only a few people managed to regain their lives. But all their loved ones and owners had already died by then. Not only people and animals, but even small insects died.  Many researchers have come to the site after the news of the tragedy that shook humanity's conscience came out.

At first, it was not possible to find out how so many people died. It was soon understood that so many people died due to breathing carbon dioxide.

Following this, the researchers observations found that the smoke coming out of Lake Neos contained a large amount of carbon dioxide.

The catastrophic release of carbon dioxide from Lake Neos is a limnicam (Limnic eruption). A limnic eruption is the process by which carbon dioxide or methane gas dissolved in deep lake water explodes into the atmosphere.

In the deep water layers of the lake, carbon dioxide had accumulated under great pressure for decades due to volcanic activity. But it is still unclear why

so much carbon dioxide was released from the lake.  The scientist believes that a landslide or a volcanic eruption or a change in weather conditions may have been the primary factor that caused the disaster.

Today, the lake is completely silent. The government has taken several precautions around the lake.

Warning signs have been set up in the area to warn people if the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases. The centuries-old lake once shone like sapphire from the sky. However, since the 1986 disaster, the lake has turned brown.