The deadliest lake in the world, known as the killer lake, recorded in the Guinness Book of Records, is Nyos Lake and is located in Cameroon, Africa. The terrible event of Lake Nyus happened on August 21, 1986; With a terrible explosion, deadly clouds filled with poisonous gases were released in the air and within a few minutes, 1746 people and 3500 animals were killed up to a distance of 25 kilometers. This is the first known large-scale drowning caused by a natural event.

 

This lake is located in the crater of an inactive volcano and was formed 12,000 years ago. Although Lake Nios is located on top of an extinct volcano, 80 kilometers below the lake, there is a pool of magma that releases a large amount of carbon dioxide and other gases. These gases easily penetrate upwards and enter the lake water. Under normal conditions, it remains dissolved in water, but due to events such as earthquakes or landslides, dissolved carbon dioxide suddenly erupts from the depth of the lake and forms a toxic cloud over the lake. Since this gas is heavier than oxygen, it descends and displaces the oxygen, suffocating any living things in the area. This phenomenon is called limnic eruptions or overturning of the lake. After this incident, a lot of attention was paid to Nios Lake, and now even the smallest emission of its gases is carefully checked, and water is transferred from the bottom of the lake to the surface through a pipe so that carbon dioxide is released in appropriate and safe amounts and to prevent recurrence. Such a disaster should be avoided.