© Getty Images

Lake Nyos, Cameroon - The reason the lake is so deadly is due to the volcanic activity hidden beneath its surface. Magma underneath the lake releases carbon dioxide, which slowly filters up through the water.

© iStock

Lake Nyos, Cameroon - This seemingly-nondescript lake in Cameroon was the site of a horrific natural disaster in 1986, which resulted in the death of over 1,700 people.

© iStock

Lake Nyos, Cameroon - It is suspected that a landslide or an earthquake triggered the sudden release of a fatal cloud of carbon dioxide, which descended upon the local region and asphyxiated its inhabitants. Measures are now in place to prevent such a disaster from happening again.

© Public Domain

Vanuatu, South Pacific - Vanuatu may look like paradise, but it hides some deadly secrets.

© iStock

Vanuatu, South Pacific - The tiny island nation is considered to be one of the most at-risk areas for natural disasters in the world.

© Shutterstock

Vanuatu, South Pacific -

Its population is regularly hit by earthquakes, storms, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. The fact that the islands are so small is also significant, as it means these natural disasters have wider-reaching effects.

© iStock

Danakil Desert, Ethiopia - It may look like another planet, but the Danakil Desert is actually in Ethiopia, with parts in Eritrea and Djibouti.

© Shutterstock

Danakil desert, Ethiopia -

It's one of the hottest and most inhospitable places in the world, with volcanoes, lava lakes, deadly hot springs and geysers blowing steaming hot water out of the ground.

© Shutterstock

Danakil Desert, Ethiopia - Though it may seem like a hellish place to live, it is inhabited by people who mine the otherworldly landscape for salt.

© iStock

Fukushima, Japan - Everyone knows Fukushima in Japan. The nuclear reactor there was damaged during the catastrophic earthquake that hit the region in March 2011.

© Shutterstock

Fukushima, Japan - It was the ensuing tsunami, which sent a huge wave over 12 m (40 ft) high towards the power station, that resulted in a core meltdown. 120,000 people in the surrounding region had to be evacuated just because of the threat of radiation.

© Getty Images

Fukushima, Japan - Today there is still an exclusion zone around the site of the disaster, and in July 2018, radiation levels inside the power plant were determined to be still too high for people to enter.

© Getty Images

Aral Sea, Central Asia - The haunting Aral Sea lies between Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

© iStock

Aral Sea, Central Asia - Once a vast lake, the Aral Sea has been rapidly drying up since the 1960s, after Soviet irrigation projects diverted the water. The result was one of the biggest ecological disasters of recent times.

© Shutterstock

Aral Sea, Central Asia - What's more, pesticides and other agricultural chemicals from the surrounding land contaminated the lake. Once the lake dried up, polluted dust particles became a health hazard for all the nearby inhabitants.

© Shutterstock

Vozrozhdeniya Island, Aral Sea - Within the Aral Sea itself lies an even deadlier location. Vozrozhdeniya Island in the middle of the lake was used by the Soviet Union to test biological weapons.

© Shutterstock

Vozrozhdeniya Island, Aral Sea - There were a series of accidents while the base was still operational. In one, multiple people died after the accidental release of weaponized smallpox.

© Shutterstock

Vozrozhdeniya Island, Aral Sea - A number of bioweapons were reportedly stored there, including anthrax spores and the bubonic plague. After the island was evacuated, the containers began to deteriorate.

© Shutterstock

Norilsk, Russia - Norilsk in Russia is the world's most northernmost city, and according to some, also the world's most-polluted.

© Reuters

Norilsk, Russia - The smelting of nickel ore is what causes the horrific pollution in this toxic city, releasing vast quantities of harmful gases into the air, which causes acid rain and smog.

© Shutterstock

Norilsk, Russia - Norlisk is home to 177,000 people, and has an average life expectancy that is 10 years shorter than the rest of the Russian population.

© Getty Images

Lake Natron, Tanzania -

This lake in East Africa looks like it should really be on Mars.

Its water is filled with minerals, and the high evaporation rate means that it is extremely alkaline. It is fed by natural hot springs, which mean that the water can reach up to 60°C (140ºF).

© iStock

Lake Natron, Tanzania - For humans and animals that are not evolved to deal with such inhospitable conditions, the water can burn the skin. The natural chemicals in the water can also mummify creatures which die on the lake, leaving eerie petrified fossils.

© iStock

Skeleton Coast, Namibia - The Skeleton Coast is the name used to describe a large part of the northern shoreline of Namibia. In the past, it was also called "the gates to hell" by Portuguese sailors.

© iStock

Skeleton Coast, Namibia - What is it about the Namibian coast that makes it so deadly? A fierce combination of rough surf, sea fog, and onshore wind meant that it was possible to land on the beach, but not to launch again.

© iStock

Skeleton Coast, Namibia - Sailors who found themselves shipwrecked on this desolate stretch of coastline would then be faced with a punishing arid landscape of seemingly-endless sand dunes.

© iStock

Centralia, USA -

Today Centralia, Pennsylvania, is practically a ghost town, after suffering from a serious catastrophe in 1962. A landfill fire spread into the coal mines beneath the town. Attempts to suppress the fire failed, and it continued to burn unnoticed until the 1980s.

© Reuters

Centralia, USA - Sink holes expelling hot toxic plumes of carbon dioxide began to open up all over the town, which then led to the forced eviction of almost all of its inhabitants. There is estimated to be enough coal for the fire to burn for another 250 years.

© Reuters

Pripyat, Ukraine -

The Chernobyl disaster is considered to be the most catastrophic nuclear accident in history.

© Getty Images

Pripyat, Ukraine - A meltdown in the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl in 1986 meant that the neighboring town of Pripyat had to be evacuated immediately.

© iStock

Pripyat, Ukraine - Even today, high levels of radiation mean that the town is uninhabitable, and can only be visited for short periods of time.

© iStock

Death Valley, USA - The morbidly named Death Valley in California is famous for its incredibly inhospitable characteristics.

© iStock

Death Valley, USA - The desert valley holds the record for the highest recorded temperature in the world.

© iStock

Death Valley, USA - Temperatures frequently supersede 50°C (122ºF) in the summer, and the aptly-named Furnace Creek holds the record for the highest recorded air temperature at a staggering 56.7°C (134ºF).

© iStock

Dzerzhinsk, Russia - Dzerzhinsk is a city 400 km (248 miles) from Moscow, which is frequently described as one of the most polluted in the world.

© Shutterstock

Dzerzhinsk, Russia - Chemical and biological production during the Soviet era resulted in wide-scale pollution in Dzerzhinsk and the surrounding area. According to some sources, the local population has a life expectancy of just 47 years.

© iStock

Dzerzhinsk, Russia -

A nearby lake is known as the "black hole," and is one of the most polluted bodies of water in the world. Considerable amounts of chemical waste were dumped there, and merely being in its vicinity is harmful to your health.

See also: Which countries do the most people want to relocate to?

© Shutterstock