
Ask HN: What are some other potential worldwide crises like the pandemic? - dmurray
Provoked by another thread which mentioned the Carrington Event. [0]<p>The Carrington Event was an extreme solar storm in 1859. It&#x27;s estimated that a similar event today would cause trillions in damage.<p>It struck me that this was a little like the Covid-19 crisis. A sudden massive worldwide economic disruptive event, rare enough that we don&#x27;t prepare for it, common enough that we can shake our heads afterwards and say we should have been better prepared.<p>What are some other things like this? Climate change is too predictable, massive asteroid strikes are too rare. A supervolcano?<p>[0] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.m.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Solar_storm_of_1859
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smt88
War, obviously. Volcanic eruptions are another.

> _Climate change is too predictable_

This isn't true.

Climate change can increase the frequency of once-rare, massive natural
disasters, like hurricanes, fires, and droughts. It also contributes to the
spread of certain diseases, such as mosquito-born diseases.

If you or anyone you know can predict the effects of climate change, you can
make millions in the insurance or real estate industries.

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ksaj
I don't agree that climate change is too predictable. By putting everything
under a single umbrella like that, one misses out on specific issues, such as
the arctic ozone layer hole, the Pacific Gulch, reef bleaching, de-oxygenation
and excessive warming of ocean waters, and so on.

These haven't _yet_ become worldwide economic disruptive events, but they
certainly are worthy triggers to pay specific attention to them.

