Environmental disaster at Lake Nyos in Cameroon

Problems

• Lake Nyos catastrophe claimed the lives of nearly 1,800 people

  Cameroon is considered an exotic country in many ways. The high-mountainous Lake Nyos is at the top of this unknown scale. The ancient lake, located in the northwest of the country, fascinates and attracts tourists who come to Africa. Local rocky shores, quiet water mirrors, and tranquil landscapes only at first glance seem fabulous. Nyos is a real "devil in the flesh" and all its beauty is only a beautiful tombstone. On August 21, 1986, a tragedy took the lives of more than 1,700 people here.
  
  About four centuries ago in West Africa, hydrothermal phenomena triggered the fusion of lava with groundwater. These natural processes caused a tremendous explosion and led to the formation of a flat-bottomed crater filled with water. This is how one of the planet's most mysterious and dangerous lakes was formed in Cameroon's northwestern part. The splendor of the local landscape remains deadly even today, and the area near the lake is closed to the public.
  
  The depth of the lake of death is impressive - 210 meters, a little less than 2 kilometers long and less than a kilometer and a half wide. The forty-meter volcanic rocks enclose the lake from the north and serve as a kind of natural dam. The volcanic barrier is crossed by a naturally formed stream. The flow of water from the lake to the Jonga River is provided by the channel.
  
  On August 21, 1986, Lake Nyos experienced one of the strangest and most mysterious natural disasters in history. The lake suddenly released hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide - experts estimate between 300,000 and 1.6 million tons - and this cloud of silent death spread across the area at nearly 100 kilometers per hour. Within minutes, 1,746 people and more than 3,500 cattle died of suffocation.
  
  At the time, researchers determined that Lake Nios released a huge amount of CO2, and because CO2 is heavier than air, it quickly spread into the valleys, covering them with a gas cloud 50 meters high. The cause of this outburst is still not exactly known.
  Volcanic gases emanating from the ground beneath the lake dissolve and concentrate in its deep waters. The gas surge could have been caused by an earthquake, a landslide, or a volcanic eruption. In the absence of a clear scientific explanation, conspiracy theories have gained popularity. Many locals believe that the deaths were caused by unspecified bomb tests carried out by the Israeli and Cameroonian military. Especially since a similar event took place nearby two years earlier in Lake Monoun, where a release of CO2 killed 37 people.
  
  They decided to control the lake to prevent the next catastrophe, and a simple solution for degassing was found. A pipe was laid along the bottom of Lake Nios, allowing the excess CO2 to escape. However, this was not enough. CO2 levels are higher now than they were in 1986, at risk of a breach, a dilapidated, natural dam. This could lead to a double catastrophe - a flood and a gas release at the same time.