Deep in the volcanic highlands of northwestern Cameroon, there is an unassuming body of water that once unleashed one of the most unusual and deadly natural disasters in modern history. Lake Nyos, a crater lake formed within a dormant volcano, is known worldwide as an ‘exploding lake’ because it can suddenly release a massive cloud of suffocating gas. This rare phenomenon, called a limnic eruption, is the reason Lake Nyos is considered one of the most dangerous lakes on Earth. For generations, Lake Nyos in northwestern Cameroon appeared completely ordinary, large, glassy, and still. Farmers and migratory herders who lived around it had no reason to fear it. But on the evening of August 21, 1986, that calm blue lake revealed a hidden and catastrophic secret. Residents near the lake no

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