MASS EXTINCTION, SIMULATED

A 2017 study in Geophysical Research Letters analysed the causes of death from 50 000 computersimulated asteroid impacts both on land and at sea. The results were not pretty.

WIND/ SHOCK WAVE

A simulation of asteroid impacts on land revealed around 60 per cent of fatalities would result from organrupturing shock waves and wind gusts some call ‘hypercanes’, which reach speeds of 800 km/h.

FIREBALL

Thermal radiation generated during some asteroid impacts can reach as high as 260°C, more than hot enough to melt your skin. Overall, the study showed exposure to this heat would cause about 30 per cent of deaths.

TSUNAMI

An asteroid crashing into the ocean could create 120 m-high waves, according to a 2003 study from UC-Santa Cruz. Overall, the 2017 simulations indicated such tsunamis would only cause one in five deaths.

FALLING DEBRIS

When an asteroid slams into Earth, it could send a torrent of rocks showering down upon the surrounding region. Stand back – the simulations showed these showers caused about 1 per cent of deaths.

CRATERS

The risk of falling into a giant hole in the Earth’s surface in the wake of an asteroid impact is only 0.17 per cent, but stay frosty. Arizona’s Meteor Crater is almost 1 200 m across, but its asteroid was just 50 m in diameter.