The Worst Year in History Is Not Linked to War or Disease – Scientists

Harvard historian Michael McCormick has named 536 AD as the worst year in human history. The cause was massive volcanic eruptions that triggered a volcanic winter: a haze of dust and aerosols enveloped Europe, the Middle East, and Asia for 18 months, depriving them of sunlight. This led to global famine and cooling. Traces of the catastrophe were found in ice cores from the Colle Gnifetti glacier, as well as in Antarctica and Greenland. In 541, the Justinianic Plague struck the Mediterranean.

Harvard archaeologist and historian Michael McCormick has named 536 AD as the worst year in human history. The cause was massive volcanic eruptions that triggered a volcanic winter: a dense haze of dust and aerosols enveloped Europe, the Middle East, and vast regions of Asia for eighteen months, depriving them of sunlight and warmth. This led to a sharp cooling and devastating global famine. Traces of the catastrophe were found in ice cores from the Swiss-Italian Colle Gnifetti glacier, as well as in Antarctica and tree rings of ancient trees in Greenland. Repeated eruptions in 540 and 547 exacerbated the crisis. In 541, the Justinianic Plague struck the Mediterranean, claiming tens of thousands of lives weekly. Byzantine chronicler Procopius of Caesarea described that the sun shone dimly, like the moon during an eclipse. This was the worst temperature minimum in the previous twenty-three centuries.