Nigeria is among nine countries that could face catastrophic consequences if asteroid 2024 YR4 collides with Earth in December 2032, scientists have warned.

The asteroid, estimated to be as powerful as a 10-megaton bomb—1,000 times more destructive than the Hiroshima explosion—has sparked urgent discussions about a potential deflection mission, which would be the first of its kind if undertaken.

Read also: Egypt’s Space Agency kicks off training for 20 African nations in satellite technology

The United Nations has already activated the Planetary Security Protocol due to the potential impact, with experts closely tracking the asteroid’s trajectory.

Asteroid 2024 YR4 puts three African nations at risk

Among the countries at risk if YR4 crashes on solid ground are three African countries—Nigeria, Sudan, and Ethiopia—as well as Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

“If it hit earth, the asteroid would be comparable to a 10 megaton bomb– about 1,000 times more powerful than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” Jonathan O’Callaghan, a British Science Journalist posted on X on February 4.

Read also: AST SpaceMobile completes $113M deal for L-Band spectrum, gains independence from AT&T and Verizon

The European Space Agency’s Near Earth Object Coordination Centre estimates the asteroid to be between 40 and 90 metres in diameter—roughly the size of a football pitch and large enough to destroy a city the size of New York.

Astrophysicist González Peinado noted that while an ocean impact is the most likely destination for the asteroid 2024 YR4, it would still pose a significant threat by triggering massive tsunamis.

Organisations such as the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN), the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG), NASA, and ESA continue to monitor the asteroid’s movements as discussions on planetary defence intensify.