Mount Tambora erupted in Indonesia,

坦波拉山在印度尼西亞爆發。

killing an estimated 92,000 people.

估計有92 000人死亡。

It was the biggest eruption in recorded history.

這是有史以來最大的一次火山爆發。

And yet, Tambora was about one-seventh the size

然而，坦波拉的大小約為七分之一。

of the smallest supervolcano.

的最小主管火山。

There are about a dozen of these monsters worldwide,

全世界有十幾只這樣的怪物。

and the last one went off 26,500 years ago in New Zealand,

最後一次爆炸是在26500年前的紐西蘭。

blanketing most of its island in a layer of thick ash.

籠罩著它的大部分島嶼，形成一層厚厚的灰燼。

Now, it's extremely unlikely

現在，這是極不可能的

that one of these supervolcanoes

其中一座監理火山

would go off anytime soon,

會很快熄滅。

let alone multiple eruptions at once.

更何況是一次多次噴發。

But, for curiosity's sake,

不過，為了好奇心。

what would happen

會怎樣

if all the world's supervolcanoes

天下無不散的筵席

erupted at once?

一下子爆發了？

If every supervolcano went off,

如果每一座監火山都爆炸了。

you'd have a hard time finding a safe place to flee to,

你會很難找到一個安全的地方逃到。

because almost every continent

因為幾乎每個大陸

is home to at least one supervolcano.

是至少一座超級火山的所在地。

For example, there's Yellowstone in the US,

比如，美國有黃石公園。

Ngorongoro in Tanzania,

坦尚尼亞的恩戈羅戈羅。

and Toba in Indonesia.

和印度尼西亞的託巴。

So, basically, no matter where you are,

所以，基本上，不管你在哪裡。

you're out of luck.

你運氣不好

But at least you'll have a warning,

但至少你會有一個警告。

because weeks or months beforehand,

因為幾周或幾個月前。

the ground will tremble with earthquakes.

地動山搖。

Then, when E-Day arrives,

然後，當電子日到來的時候。

the earth-shattering sound would be a dead giveaway

驚濤駭浪

that something wasn't right.

有些東西是不正確的。

When Krakatoa,

當喀拉喀托火山。

which wasn't even close

差之毫釐，謬以千里

to the size of a supervolcano,

到大小的監火山。

erupted in 1883,

1883年爆發。

it released a roar so loud

轟然

the sound traveled nearly 4,800 kilometers

聲傳四千八百公里

across the Indian Ocean,

跨越印度洋。

shattering windows and deafening people in its path.

砸碎了窗戶，震聾了路人的耳朵。

And since even the smallest supereruption

因為即使是最小的超級暴動... ...

would dwarf Krakatoa's eruption,

會使喀拉喀托火山的爆發相形見絀。

there is really no telling how much damage this would cause,

真的不知道會造成多大的損失。

but it would be epically catastrophic.

但這將是史詩般的災難性。

And let's say you were lucky enough to survive

假設你很幸運地活下來了呢？

this first wave of destruction.

這第一波破壞。

After that, it would be time to find a fallout shelter,

之後，就可以找一個落腳點了。

because these supereruptions spew

因為這些超級大爆發會噴發

billions of tons of ash, volcanic glass, and rock

數十億噸的火山灰、火山玻璃和岩石。

thousands of meters into the air.

數千米的空中。

Not something you want to inhale or be in the path of,

不是你想吸入的東西，也不是你想置身其中的東西。

since this cloud of ash doesn't just travel up;

因為這團灰燼不只是向上傳播。

it also expands out,

它也會擴張出去。

crashing across the landscape at jet-fighter speeds.

以噴氣式戰鬥機的速度橫衝直撞。

It would collapse buildings,

它會使建築物倒塌。

contaminate water supplies,

汙染供水。

and bring down any power grids in its path.

並將其路徑上的所有電網摧毀。

And the fallout would extend for hundreds of kilometers,

而且餘波會延伸數百公里。

so any cities nearby a supervolcano are immediately toast.

所以任何靠近火山的城市都會立即完蛋。

As are any planes that attempt

就像任何試圖

to fly people away from the danger.

以使人們遠離危險。

And keep in mind that ash travels.

而且要記住，灰燼的旅行。

When Toba erupted 74,000 years ago,

7.4萬年前託巴火山爆發時。

winds blew ash all the way to India.

風把灰燼一直吹到印度。

So if all the supervolcanoes go off at once,

所以，如果所有的監理火山同時爆炸。

volcanic debris would spread across the globe.

火山碎屑將遍佈全球。

When the eruption ends,

當噴發結束後。

the disaster will have only just started.

災難才剛剛開始。

Because for the next six months,

因為在接下來的半年裡。

much of that supervolcanic ash

大部分的上火山灰

would linger in the stratosphere and block sunlight,

會滯留在平流層，阻擋陽光。

causing global temperatures to plunge

導致全球氣溫驟降

by as much as 15 degrees Celsius.

高達15攝氏度。

That's close to the difference between summer in Rio

這和里約熱內盧的夏天相差無幾。

versus Anchorage, Alaska.

對阿拉斯加的安克雷奇。

In fact, just "little" Mount Tambora's eruption

事實上，只是 "小 "坦波拉山的噴發。

alone set off the "Year Without a Summer,"

僅僅是掀起了 "無夏之年"，。

where frost and blizzards plagued much

霜雪滿天飛

of the Northern Hemisphere.

北半球的。

So, multiply that by the 12 or so supervolcanoes

所以，乘以12座左右的監火山。

all spewing thick black dust,

都在噴灑著濃濃的黑塵。

and you've got a worldwide volcanic winter

你已經得到了一個世界性的火山冬季。

for the next few years.

在未來幾年內，。

Tropical forests,

熱帶森林；

which can't handle cold weather,

這不能應對寒冷的天氣。

would wither and die,

會枯萎死亡。

bringing down the millions of animal species

殃及千萬動物

that live there.

住在那裡的。

And it's about to get even bleaker.

而且還將變得更加黯淡。

You know that saying

你知道那句話嗎？

"out of the frying pan and into the fire"?

"出油鍋，入火坑"？

Well, in addition to ash,

嗯，除了灰。

those volcanoes also belch toxic gasses,

那些火山也會噴出有毒氣體。

like sulfur dioxide, into the atmosphere.

如二氧化硫，進入大氣。

And after a few years,

而幾年後。

just after the winter finally ends,

就在冬天終於結束後。

those gasses would start to fall from the sky as acid rain.

這些氣體將開始從天空中落下，作為酸雨。

When the Laki volcano erupted in 1783 in Iceland,

1783年冰島拉基火山爆發時。

it rained down so much sulfuric acid

漫天飛雨

that it devastated farmland

毀壞農田

and wiped out half of all livestock.

並消滅了一半的牲畜。

The next year,

第二年。

a full quarter of Iceland's population died

冰島四分之一的人口死亡

in the resulting famine.

在由此造成的饑荒中。

So imagine that,

所以想象一下。

but everywhere.

但各地。

And since Laki wasn't even a supervolcano,

而且由於拉基根本就不是一座監火山。

we're looking at acid rain for the next decade.

我們正在尋找酸雨 在未來十年。

Say goodbye to civilization,

和文明說再見。

because it probably can't survive

因為它可能無法生存

a decade-long global famine.

長達十年的全球饑荒。

Now, there are a few places on Earth

現在，地球上有幾個地方

that, while still suffering from cold

患得患失

and acid rain and famine,

和酸雨和饑荒。

would at least be free

起碼自由了

from the actual explosions themselves.

從實際爆炸本身。

Like volcanic islands such as the Galapagos,

如加拉帕戈斯等火山島。

or even Hawaii,

甚至是夏威夷。

which ironically is famous for its volcanoes.

諷刺的是，它以火山聞名。

But the thing is,

但問題是

these volcanoes slowly release flows of lava

緩緩釋放出熔岩流

rather than violently exploding.

而不是猛烈的爆炸。

So, you could at least enjoy a nice view

所以，你至少可以欣賞到一個好的風景。

as civilization implodes.

隨著文明的內爆。