The Silent Cloud Over Lake Nyos: Cameroon’s 1986 CO2 Disaster
In the early hours of August 21, 1986, a sudden release of dissolved carbon dioxide from Lake Nyos in Cameroon rolled down the valley in a dense, invisible cloud, killing about 1,700 people and thousands of cattle as the gas, heavier than air, displaced oxygen where sleepers lay. The event, a rare limnic eruption, was poorly understood for years, leading to degassing projects at Nyos and Monoun and a larger, ongoing effort at nearby Lake Kivu, underscoring how ordinary-looking lakes can harbor deadly hazards with no surface warning.
