What happens if all volcanoes explode at the same time?

What will happen if all active volcanoes begin to erupt at the same time on Earth? Nothing good. What will happen will be very much like an apocalypse.

There are 1500 active volcanoes on our planet, each of which has erupted at least once in the last 10 thousand years. In addition, 500 volcanoes on the ocean floor exploded for the known history of the planet.

Not all eruptions are the same. Volcanic explosions can be divided into two types. The first, effusive volcanoes, emit lava flows and a lot of gas. The second, explosive, – ash and gas. The difference in activity depends on the viscosity of the magma. The higher the viscosity of the magma, the more difficult the gas to get out, and the more likely the explosive nature of the eruption.

So, what happens when all 1500 volcanoes start to erupt together? The first to suffer are people living near volcanoes.

The danger will be the flow of magma. Pyroclastic flows – rapid rivers of rock, ash and gas, very hot, their temperature rises to 1000 degrees Celsius. You can’t run away from such flows, and you won’t even leave, their speed reaches 724 km / h.

Volcanoes will also emit streams of ash into the air, which will spread over thousands of kilometers. Volcanic ash is dangerous for all types of engines and buildings that can collapse under its weight. Inhalation of ash can cause huge problems with the lungs, including silicosis. There may be an overload of the immune system, which will cause a number of secondary diseases. Communications will not work – the ashes will disable satellite dishes and block the radio waves.

The worst thing is the long-term climate change on Earth. Volcanoes are usually associated with heat. However, a huge amount of gas and ash emitted into the atmosphere will lower the temperature on the entire planet. Sulfur oxide, combining with water, will turn into aerosol particles that reflect the sunlight back into space. As a result, the planet will cool, perhaps the ice age will come.

In the long term, we will see the opposite effect – the temperature of the Earth will rise. For hundreds of years, carbon dioxide emitted by volcanoes will heat the planet. At the moment, humanity produces 50–100 times more CO2 than volcanoes.