Volcanic Gases Explained

Magma contains dissolved gases under enormous pressure, and their release drives eruptions. Water vapor makes up 60-90% of volcanic gas. When it escapes violently, it fragments magma into ash hurled kilometers skyward.

Sulfur dioxide creates acid rain, destroys ozone, and can cool global temperatures. The 1991 Pinatubo eruption lowered worldwide temperatures by 0.5 degrees Celsius for two years.

Carbon dioxide is more subtle but deadly. Being heavier than air, it pools in valleys and suffocates everything. In 1986, Lake Nyos in Cameroon released a CO2 cloud that killed 1,746 people silently as they slept.