5 times when humans came close to extinction
5 events that brought us close to a potential extinction.
Dunya News Report (Yaruq Malik)
We all have heard the predictions about how the world will end and the possible causes that would lead to our ‘extinction’.
History tells us that there have been times when humanity was almost erased from the planet. According to reports, there have been five major incidents where humans came close to extinction.
1- Indonesia’s Toba Volcano
Around 75,000 years ago, the Toba volcano in Indonesia erupted. According to scientists, this volcanic eruption was the largest in two million years. It is said that around 3,000 cubic kilometers of ash was released during the event which unleashed millions of light blocking particles in the atmosphere killing plants and trees. A study reveals that almost the entire human population became extinct as there was no rainfall and an acute shortage of food was created due to the catastrophe.
It is speculated that the thick vapors from the volcanic ash caused a global ‘volcanic winter’ of ten years.
2- The Atom Collider (Large Hadron Collider)
The atom collider is the world’s largest and most expensive scientific experiment ever conducted. It is a 17 mile long underground tube composed of 9,000 magnets which smashes atomic particles at a very high speed. Its purpose is to solve the mysteries of the universe like the big bang, origins of mass and physics. It is the largest particle accelerator ever built. At its launch, it was feared that it will cause an end to the world. It was feared by the scientists that the experiment could create a ‘black hole’ which could be disastrous. A legal bid was filed to stop the experiment as the outcome was still unknown. According to reports, miniature black holes could have been created during the collision which could have potentially dissolved the planet. Finally, Stephen Hawking intervened and deemed the experiment ‘safe’. Experts believe that recreating the big bang can result in unknown anomalies for which the world is still ‘unprepared’.
3- The Plague (Black Death)
The plague was a disease that originated from China and was spread by infected flees and rats. The plague had the potential of wiping out the entire human race due to the lack of treatment and poor hygiene at that time. Once infected, death came in days. The disease wiped out half of China’s population, sixty percent of Europe and one eighth of Africa at its peak. It is estimated that around 200 million people died of the plague. Luckily, at the time of the spread, transportation was extremely limited therefore the disease remained within communities. If travel would have been swift and sophisticated, the plague could have wiped out the human race altogether.
4- Asteroids
Asteroids are large rock formations orbiting the sun in space. Believed to be the cause of the extinction of dinosaurs, asteroids are constantly flying around the space atmosphere. It was reported in March 2014 that an asteroid around 1.2 kilometers wide could hit the earth. However, the asteroid flew pass the earth. Moreover, in June 2015, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) monitored an asteroid which was 1.5 miles in size and was fifteen times the size of the largest asteroid that has ever been observed. This observation caused a global outbreak to create a system that would either destroy or divert the asteroids approaching earth. The asteroid barely missed the earth and alarmingly, NASA still has no clue as to where the 98 percent of the asteroids are heading in space.
Professor Brian Cox once said, “There is an asteroid with our name on it and it will hit us”.
5- Nuclear Warheads
The destruction caused by a nuclear weapon is known well among the people who have witnessed the bombing of Japan by the United States during the Second World War. After the Second World War, scientists believed that it would take between ten and a hundred nuclear bombs to put the entire human race to an end. The radiation caused by the nuclear explosion makes the air toxic and poisonous. There have been events where nuclear wars were narrowly avoided.
In January 1995, a team of Norwegian and American scientists launched a 4-stage rocket carrying scientific equipment and its air path included the capital city of Russia. During its flight, the Russian radar-crew spotted the rocket and feared that it was a nuclear warhead headed for the capital. Immediately, a signal was sent to ‘Russia’s nuclear briefcase’ which had a ten minute decision deadline. Russian President Boris Yeltsin activated the nuclear keys and orders were given to be ready for a war against the United States of America. Just a few minutes before the nuclear launch, the rocket fell into the sea and the world escaped a global nuclear war.
