Merapi (Indonesia)

Mount Merapi, Indonesia's most active and dangerous volcano, looms over Java with near-constant eruptions. Nicknamed "Mountain of Fire," this stratovolcano erupts explosively every few years, unleashing pyroclastic flows that have claimed thousands of lives. Despite its threat, over a million people farm its fertile slopes. Monitored 24/7 by volcanologists, Merapi’s 2010 eruption—its deadliest in 80 years—displaced 300,000. Sacred to Javanese culture, it symbolizes nature’s duality: creator and destroyer. A UNESCO Decade Volcano, Merapi remains a ticking time bomb with global scientific significance.