Bill McGuire is a volcanologist, climate scientist, activist, and writer. He is Professor Emeritus of Geophysical and Climate Hazards at UCL, a co-director of the New Weather Institute and a patron of Scientists for Global Responsibility. In 1996, he was a Senior Scientist at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory and in 2010 a member of SAGE during the Icelandic volcanic ash crisis. In 2005, he was a co-author of the UK Government report: The Role of Science in Natural Hazard Assessment. He was a contributor to the 2012 IPCC report on climate change and extreme events.

• Foreword


• 1: Hazardous Earth


• 2: Earthquakes and tsunamis


• 3: The volcanic menace


• 4: Storm force


• 5: Fire and flood


• 6: Existential threats and systemic shocks


• Further Reading


• Index

In this Very Short Introduction Bill McGuire explores the potential catastrophes facing our planet. Assessing both the probability of these events happening in the future, and our chances of survival, this new edition brings our understanding of global disasters and risk research up to date by using recent case studies from around the world.