‘The Sun was dark and its darkness lasted for 18 months’ – what we can learn from worst volcanic eruptions in history
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The worst volcanic eruptions in history: when the sun went darkEurope was plunged into darkness and suffered from intense crop failures and famines in the years A. D. 536 and A. D. 1258, after massive volcanic eruptions. When many people think of volcanic eruptions, they envisage deadly lava flows and suffocating ash fall. The fate of the inhabitants of Pompeii after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the year A. D. 79 still resonates today. Yet, volcanic eruptions have more wide-ranging consequences than is often realised, and this is recorded in historical accounts. Large volcanic eruptions emit gases and ash particles into the atmosphere. Although the ash itself settles within weeks, the aerosols spread around the planet and can remain suspended in the atmosphere for years. Ice cores – long cylindrical samples drilled from glaciers – reveal these past sediment layers over hundreds of thousands of years. What we can see from studying historic records is that volcanic eruptions can produce climatic changes, and rapid spread of disease such as plague. They can also affect weather systems far beyond the immediate vicinity of the volcano itself.
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