End of humanity? Blow-by-blow account of what would happen if the Yellowstone supervolcano erupted now – The Conversation

End of humanity? Blow-by-blow account of what would happen if the Yellowstone supervolcano erupted now  The ConversationEnd of humanity? Blow‑by‑blow account of what would happen if the Yellowstone supervolcano erupted now  Phys.org‘1.3 billion premature deaths’: Scientists give frightening play-by-play of hypothetical Yellowstone supervolcano eruption  nypost.com

Anybody within the eruption zone would be pulverised by blasts, crisped by the heat, or asphyxiated by ash. Around 631,000 years ago — a geological blink of an eye — catastrophe unfolded in what is now north-western Wyoming, US. During what is thought to have been a series of immense volcanic eruptions, life within hundreds of kilometres of the blasts was shattered. Ash was dispersed across much of North America and the effects were felt worldwide. This was a super-eruption of the massive volcanic system located in what is now the Yellowstone National Park. Despite the scale, no known human witnessed the cataclysm.

As far as we know, early humans had not yet reached the continent. Across oceans, perhaps early humans did wonder at the hazier skies and unusually vivid sunsets. Volcanic particles circulating in the sky cooled their climate and likely affected their weather patterns and lives. Whether they noted these changes – or connected them to any distant event – is unknowable. Today, humanity would certainly notice. We already know that a super-eruption on this scale would be a threat civilisation as we know it. So what exactly would we experience if Yellowstone erupted? We are experts in disasters and volcanoes and what