A massive asteroid, comparable in size to a soccer field, is expected to collide with Earth within seven years’ time, posing an unprecedented threat to global stability. The asteroid’s estimated size ranges between 40 and 90 meters, with a high chance of causing extensive devastation upon impact.
According to NASA scientist David Rankin, the asteroid’s “risk corridor” indicates a large stretch of the Earth that could be hit, stretching from South America across the Pacific Ocean to South Asia, Africa, and parts of Europe. Countries at risk include Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Sudan, Nigeria, and several others.
The impact is predicted to release an enormous amount of energy, equivalent to 8 megatons of TNT, a force capable of destroying entire cities like Washington, D.C. The effects would be devastating, with serious damage spreading up to 8.8 km away and people losing their lives as far as 19 km from the crash site.
NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are working together to refine the asteroid’s size and path using global observation networks, including telescopes like ATLAS and the James Webb Space Telescope. With an estimated 2.3% chance of impact, the world is bracing for a catastrophic event that could happen within the next decade.
Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/us-news-asteroid-2024-yr4-nasa-city-killer-asteroid-as-large-as-statue-of-liberty-and-100x-power-of-hiroshimas-bomb-could-blaze-towards-earth-2032/articleshow/118253331.cms?from=mdr