This Volcano Nearly Ended the Human Race - And Could Do It Again - video Dailymotion

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What if the planet’s greatest threat is hiding beneath our feet? In this explosive collection, explore the terrifying power of Earth’s most dangerous supervolcanoes - from Lake Toba in Indonesia to Yellowstone in the U.S. Discover how one ancient eruption nearly wiped out early humanity and learn why scientists believe some of these sleeping giants might be waking up again today. Uncover the mysteries of colossal eruptions that can reshape continents, cool the planet, and darken the skies for years. Are we prepared if it happens again?  Animation is created by Bright Side.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV  Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Our Social Media:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightplanet/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

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00:00The latest super eruption of Yellowstone occurred 640,000 years ago, and it was long before Homo sapiens saw the light of day.

00:10But we were around during another, no less devastating natural disaster.

00:15This super eruption took place on the island of Sumatra around 74,000 years ago.

00:21That's when an erupting super volcano wreaked havoc on huge territories, sending up plumes of debris and ash that spread for thousands of miles and caused temperatures on the planet to plummet.

00:33The effects of this super eruption were visible as far away as southern Africa.

00:40Experts believe they could have impacted early humans there.

00:43By the time the volcano erupted, our ancestors had already been using stone tools and had likely known how to produce yarn.

00:51And some specialists even think that the Toba super eruption was so powerful, it could push our ancestors to the brink of extinction.

01:00They claim that Toba might be the largest volcanic eruption to occur on Earth within the last 2 million years.

01:07The eruption disgorged so much pyroclastic rock, it would be enough to cover the entire United States to the depth of a one-story house.

01:16About a third of that deposit piled up on northern Sumatra, while a lot more ended up beneath the floor of the Indian Ocean.

01:25The super eruption left an elliptical crater lake around 60 miles long.

01:30The caldera is so large, it's hard to feel that you're indeed in a volcano.

01:36Pumace deposits from the eruption remain in the canyon walls and go deep below the ground.

01:41There aren't many arguments about the amount of pumice and ash involved in this disaster.

01:48At the same time, experts aren't sure how much sulfur ended up in the atmosphere.

01:52Even some sulfur layers in the polar ice could be potential candidates.

01:57But so far, scientists haven't found any connection between them and Toba.

02:02But let's get back to the dramatic impact the super eruption had on early humans.

02:08It turns out, some not only survived, but even thrived after this natural catastrophe.

02:14At least judging by the artifacts they made during and after the eruption.

02:19The disaster might not have posed a serious threat to those of our ancestors who took refuge along the coast.

02:25Genetic evidence hints that modern humans descend from a few thousand people that ventured out of Africa around 60,000 years ago.

02:35Why just a few thousand?

02:37According to some experts, the rest of our ancestors could have been devastated by the Toba eruption.

02:44After all, the super volcano spewed out a thousand cubic miles of dust and rock in a flash,

02:51leaving a scar in the ground that was dozens of miles wide.

02:54All that dust and sulfur Toba sent into the atmosphere potentially cooled the surface of our planet,

03:00which led to the appearance of glaciers and the lowering of Earth's sea levels.

03:06And since Toba might have had an important role in shaping humankind,

03:10scientists have been working hard trying to understand precisely how early humans reacted to this disaster.

03:17In 2011, several researchers found an enigmatic soil sample in South Africa's Pinnacle Point,

03:25an archaeological site overlooking the Indian Ocean.

03:28This sample contained some volcanic ash.

03:32After examining the layer, they found more than 400,000 artifacts left by early humans.

03:38Based on this finding, the team suggested that early humans on the South African coast thrived after the eruption,

03:51living in that area for thousands of years and improving their tools.

03:56The region might have served as a refuge during and after the Toba eruption.

04:02A 2009 study suggested that the eruption could have lowered global temperatures by 14 degrees Fahrenheit.

04:09It would have made survival tough elsewhere in Africa.

04:12If there had been a volcanic winter, it wouldn't have been as cold along the coastline.

04:17On the other hand, newer studies claim that Toba spewed out so much sulfur into the atmosphere

04:23that the resulting aerosols could have stuck together,

04:26which would have limited their cooling effect in the long term.

04:30In other words, right after the eruption, temperatures would have plummeted, but only in some regions.

04:37And after three years or so, the effects of the eruptions would have calmed down altogether,

04:41becoming not dangerous to humans.

04:44Well, apparently, more research is needed.

04:46Meanwhile, let's figure out if we should watch out for any volcanoes these days.

04:53Last year, thousands of small earthquakes shook the ground near Iceland's Fartzengi geothermal power plant.

05:00Magma rose to the surface there, and now it has opened wide fractures slicing through the small town of Grindavík.

05:08The ground there is still swelling, and an eruption might happen with little notice.

05:13But of course, that's not all.

05:15Over the planet, 45 other volcanoes keep rumbling.

05:20For example, Italy's Vesuvius, that infamous thing that finished the city of Pompeii in 79 CE.

05:27Over the last 17,000 years, the volcano has experienced eight explosive eruptions,

05:33followed by powerful pyroclastic flows,

05:36dense masses of super-hot ash, lava fragments, and gases flowing at high speeds.

05:43The volcano's last eruption happened in 1944.

05:48Mount Rainier is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the USA.

05:52Its high elevation, chemical composition, and proximity to Washington, Seattle, and Tacoma suburbs,

05:58and the volcano's ability to produce massive pyroclastic flows make Mount Rainier a threat to consider.

06:05The heat from this volcano could potentially melt the ice and snow covering it,

06:09leading to rapid downstream flows of debris, mud, and rocks.

06:13The Novorukta volcano in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Reserve formed in a 1912 eruption,

06:21which was the world's largest in the 20th century.

06:25The volcano sent almost 7 cubic miles of ash and debris into the air.

06:30It also produced such a powerful ash flow that it created the Valley of 10,000 Smokes.

06:35Mount Pinatubo is located in a populated region in the Philippines.

06:42It became notorious after a 1991 massive eruption,

06:46which was the second-largest eruption of the 20th century.

06:50More than 700 people lost their lives during that natural disaster.

06:55Today, more than 21 million people live within 62 miles of Pinatubo.

07:01Mount Agun,

07:02A continuously erupting volcano in Indonesia had its last major eruption in 1963.

07:09It was one of the most tragic eruptions in the country's history.

07:13It lasted for 11 months, producing ashfall and pyroclastic flows

07:18that led to the loss of more than 1,000 lives and serious property damage.

07:24People saw ash plumes above the volcano throughout 2018,

07:28following the eruption in November 2017.

07:32Japan's Mount Fuji hasn't erupted since 1707.

07:37That year, a massive earthquake likely set it off.

07:41In 2014, experts warned that Fuji could be at risk of another eruption

07:45following the 9-magnitude earthquake that shook Japan in 2011.

07:50Experts believed the earthquake had raised pressure below Fuji.

07:54The eruption in 1707 sent so much ash and debris into the air

07:59that all this mass even reached Tokyo.

08:02Should Fuji erupt again,

08:04it would affect more than 25 million people in the surrounding areas.

08:08The eruption of Washington's Mount St. Helen in 1980

08:13was one of the most destructive volcanic events in U.S. history.

08:1857 people, as well as thousands of animals,

08:21lost their lives during that natural disaster.

08:24The eruption also destroyed around 200 square miles of forest.

08:29Experts think that Mount St. Helen's history of massive eruptions

08:33means that future catastrophes are bound to happen.

08:37The next explosive eruption might send large amounts of ash all over the Pacific Northwest.

08:43No wonder the volcano is under close monitoring.

08:45One of Indonesia's most active volcanoes,

08:50Mount Merupi, has been erupting for centuries.

08:53NASA claims that the biggest risk of this volcano is pyroclastic flows,

08:57which can spread over vast areas and harm loads of people.

09:03For the last time, Merupi erupted in January 2024,

09:07sending plumes of smoke into the air.

09:09These days, more than 24 million people live in the areas surrounding this volcano.

09:14Our planet's biggest and meanest supervolcanoes are waking up.

09:22When they erupt, you'll surely notice it,

09:24even if you live thousands of miles away from the epicenter.

09:28Scientists are worried we might not have enough time

09:30to prepare and deal with the consequences of a supereruption.

09:36There's some volcanic activity close to the Italian city of Naples.

09:40And no, it has nothing to do with the famous Mount Vesuvius,

09:43but with another volcano.

09:45This one is harder to see, as it doesn't have a tall peak like Vesuvius.

09:49But don't let this bad guy trick you.

09:52It could be way more dangerous than its giant neighbor.

09:55It does have a huge crater that's about 8 miles wide.

09:58This volcano is called Campi Flegre,

10:01and it's actually one of the largest volcanoes in Europe,

10:04sitting under the town of Pozwale.

10:05So, Campi Flegre erupted 39,000 years ago,

10:10with a bang so massive it spread ash across the whole Mediterranean region.

10:14It also caused the temperature to drop by over 16 degrees Fahrenheit across Eastern Europe.

10:20It was the biggest volcanic eruption in Europe in 200,000 years.

10:24Since then, Campi Flegre has had smaller eruptions,

10:28and the last one happened in 1538.

10:30Now, the area is full of small craters, hot springs, and bubbling pools.

10:35And they're all proof that this volcano is still very much alive and brewing something.

10:41Since the early 2000s, the ground in the giant crater and the town nearby

10:45have been slowly rising by about 1 to 1.5 inches every year.

10:50There were at least 150 earthquakes that shook this supervolcano lately.

10:54In May 2024, there was a 4.4 magnitude in the area, the biggest in the last 40 years.

11:01Residents had to leave their homes and camp outside, fearing there would be more earthquakes.

11:06No one knows how Campi Flegre is going to behave in the following months or years.

11:11But the authorities are organizing evacuation exercises to prepare the population just in case.

11:18The Italian volcano looks like an innocent kitten compared to the real giants like Yellowstone.

11:24For a volcano to deserve the title of a super one,

11:28it must be able to produce catastrophic-scale eruptions

11:31and eject huge amounts of magma, ash, and volcanic gases.

11:35The Yellowstone giant meets these criteria.

11:38Even though it moves from time to time,

11:40the Yellowstone supervolcano hasn't erupted for 640,000 years.

11:45But when it does wake up, it might erupt with incredible power,

11:49about the same amount as 10 huge nuclear power stations can produce.

11:53Under the ground, beneath Yellowstone, there's a super-hot area full of molten rock called magma.

12:00As more magma moves into a big space called a magma chamber,

12:04the ground above starts to swell or rise.

12:07When the magma cools down, the ground falls.

12:11Between 2004 and 2009, the ground at Yellowstone rose by almost 10 inches,

12:17but then it started to slowly go back down in 2010.

12:20Scientists aren't sure if it's going to erupt anytime soon.

12:25There's also another big volcano called Long Valley in California

12:29that has been active since 1980, and it can be a really big threat.

12:34Scientists studying this supervolcano found out that before its biggest eruption,

12:38760,000 years ago, the buildup may have taken less than a year.

12:45Now, that's bad news, because a supervolcano eruption can have a huge effect on the world,

12:50like the eruption of the Toba volcano in Sumatra around 74,000 years ago.

12:56It became the biggest volcanic eruption the Earth had seen in 28 million years.

13:01It covered parts of Indonesia, India, and the Indian Ocean with a thick layer of volcanic debris,

13:07almost like a 6-inch blanket.

13:09The amount of rock it spewed out was like stacking nearly 3 million Empire State Buildings.

13:14The giant crater it left behind can still be seen from space.

13:19All the ash and gases shot up into the air and blocked some of the sunlight.

13:23It caused a volcanic winter that lasted about 6 to 10 years.

13:26Some scientists think this eruption might have even affected early humans.

13:31Around the time Toba erupted, the human population took a sharp dip,

13:35and there were far fewer people.

13:37Some say this is why all modern humans come from a small group of survivors.

13:42According to the Toba catastrophe theory,

13:44most early humans in Europe and Asia didn't survive the cold and harsh climate after the eruption.

13:49But a lucky group lived through all that in Africa.

13:52Not all scientists agree with this idea,

13:55and some archaeological and climate records show a different story.

14:01Another volcano that changed the world in a big way was Mount Tambora in 1815.

14:06The next year went down in history as the year without a summer.

14:11It was cold and rainy, and there was snow and frost even in the middle of summer,

14:16especially in Europe and North America.

14:18This happened because the volcano sent out a lot of sulfur dioxide into the sky,

14:22which spread all over the world and made the planet colder.

14:26When Tambora erupted, it caused huge tsunamis that smashed homes and took the lives of around 10,000 people.

14:33Afterward, about 80,000 more people passed away because of the consequences the eruption had caused in the world.

14:40The cold weather ruined crops, so food became really expensive.

14:43And because horses were the main way people traveled, the cost of oats that they ate went way up, too.

14:50Some people even think this led to the invention of the bicycle in 1817 as a new way to get around.

14:57The eruption made the earth colder for about three years.

15:00Now, even though the Tambora eruption was so powerful,

15:03Krakatoa, another volcano in Indonesia, stole the show when it erupted in 1883.

15:10It was just easier to spread information about it through telegrams and photos.

15:15Its final blast was the loudest recorded sound in history,

15:18and people could hear it on 10% of the entire earth's surface.

15:22The eruption started a tsunami, with waves about half as tall as the Statue of Liberty.

15:27Now, if we only had 12 months to prepare for a supervolcano eruption,

15:33it would be really hard to store enough food and get ready.

15:37But don't panic just yet.

15:39Supervolcano eruptions are very rare.

15:42And the last one happened 26,500 years ago in New Zealand.

15:46Scientists think that a supereruption happens once every 100,000 years on average.

15:52But the sad part here is that the earth doesn't follow a perfect timeline.

15:55There could be clusters of supereruptions with shorter gaps between them

16:00and then longer quiet periods.

16:02Since there have already been two supereruptions in the last 100,000 years,

16:07there's always a chance one could happen again sooner than we expect.

16:12Plus, although there are places like Yellowstone and Long Valley,

16:16where we expect volcanoes to erupt,

16:19there are less obvious possible hotspots.

16:22In Chile, there's a volcano called Laguna del Maule

16:25that has erupted in the past and left behind a huge crater.

16:29Over the last 20 years, the ground there has been swelling really fast,

16:33rising up to almost 1 foot a year.

16:35Some people are worried that this could be a sign of a big eruption coming.

16:39But scientists say there's not enough magma yet to cause a supereruption.

16:44In Bolivia, the Jutarancu volcano is also acting up.

16:48It's part of a group of volcanoes that have caused supereruptions in the past.

16:52Since the 1960s, the ground around Jutarancu has been lifting.

16:57But the last eruption was 250,000 years ago.

17:01Even though the magma might be rising,

17:03it's not enough to worry about just yet.

17:06The chances of a supereruption happening during our lifetime

17:09are 1 in 1,400, which is pretty low,

17:13so you don't need to worry too much.

17:15But just like someone wins the lottery every week with very small chances,

17:20a supereruption could happen sometime in the future.

17:23And when it does, we'll need to be prepared.

17:26That's it for today.

17:27So hey, if you pacified your curiosity,

17:30then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

17:32Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side!

This Volcano Nearly Ended the Human Race - And Could Do It Again

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