Apocalyptic volcanic eruption might be sooner than we think

HUMAN civilisation is lucky to have escaped a volcanic super-eruption powerful enough to blast it back to the Stone Age.

New research suggests the average time between the cataclysmic events is much less than was thought.

Experts now believe the time interval to be only slightly longer than the age of civilisation, dating from the agricultural revolution 12,000 years ago.

Scientists have shown that super-eruptions, which can blanket an entire continent with volcanic ash and alter climate on a global scale, are capable of returning humanity to a pre-civilisation state.

According to geological records, the two most recent super-eruptions occurred between 20,000 and 30,000 years ago.

“On balance, we have been slightly lucky not to experience any supereruptions since then,” Professor Jonathan Rougier, from the University of Bristol, said.

“But it is important to appreciate that the absence of super-eruptions in the last 20,000 years does not imply one is overdue. What we can say is volcanoes are more threatening to civilisation than previously thought.”

Previous estimates suggested super-eruptions occurred on average every 45,000 to 714,000 years. The recalculation, published in the journal ‘Earth and Planetary Science Letters’, produces a range of 5,200 to 48,000 years, with a “best guess” average of 17,000.