The Global Impact of a Yellowstone Eruption
It is well-known by U.S. survivalists that if Yellowstone erupts, the western half of the country will be a terrible place to be. And because ash will ruin motors, the only way to survive would be to stay indoors for long periods, and survive on stored food and water. But what about the rest of the world?
First of all, the economic impact would be extraordinary. California, if it was a country, would be one of the 10 biggest economies in the world. You’d pretty much expect the USA to become bankrupt, and therefore the major global currency would no longer be the dollar. America could be ripe for an invasion… All in all, it would be a much worse situation that the Global Financial Crisis.
What about physical repercussions, worldwide?
The jet stream generally flows from west to east, so the north-eastern states would also get some ash fallout – sufficient to damage crops. A lot of the ash will remain in the atmosphere for a year or two. Skies would be greatly darkened, temperatures will plummet, and pretty much nothing will grow well in the northern hemisphere. While the southern hemisphere should have skies clear of ash, the lower temperatures in the north would surely affect the entire globe – one way or another.
The best place to be would be somewhere with a relatively low population, lots of arable land, and politically stable. Australia ticks all of those boxes, and because it is quite a hot country, it won’t suffer too much if global temperatures plummet.
Of course if a different supervolcano erupted, say Lake Taupo, Australia might not necessarily be your best place to be. Having said that, most supervolcanoes are in the northern hemisphere.
