What Happens If the Yellowstone Super Volcano Blows? Would People Survive?

By: Riley Brown | Last updated: Nov 05, 2023

The Yellowstone supervolcano has erupted thrice in the past, and each time, the destruction caused has been ten notches higher. What if this simmering pot of magma was to explode today?

The aftermaths are going to be irreversible and possibly question human existence. Not to forget the nuclear winter that tags along with the unimaginable destruction that follows up with the supervolcano eruption!

What Will Happen if the Supervolcano Erupts?

Once the heat from the surface kicks in, the granitic magma mixed with the water vapors, carbon dioxide, and other gasses gives way to a mind-boggling chain reaction.

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The ground would be pushed from beneath, creating cracks along the edges of the volcanic crater. Through these cracks, the gasses would break free and empty an unthinkable amount of magma in the blink of an eye!

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The Doomsday Unfolds

Now as the wrath of mother nature unwraps, the destruction would be unspeakable. To give you a rough idea, the eruption would be 1,000x more potent than the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption.

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The volcano would spew super hot molten ash that would spread across 1,000 miles and put almost 90,000 lives at stake.

What’s the Worst That Could Happen? A Nuclear Winter!

The catastrophic aftermath would alter the landscape forever. Even a bright sunny day would turn into night as the debris and ash from the eruption would cloak the skies with pitch darkness.

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Sulfur dioxide from the eruption would bar the sunlight from entering the atmosphere, thus causing a dramatic drop in temperatures. The bitter cold would cause the crops to die and disrupt the food cycle, leading to food shortages.

But When Will It Erupt?

The last time this ticking bomb went on a rampage was about 640,000 years ago.

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Thankfully, the chances of an eruption in the next few thousand years are slim; in fact, 0.00014% each year. Even though the chances for the supervolcano’s eruption are low in our lifetime, the tinderbox is bound to open up eventually.