Worst Year on Earth for Humans was 536

Earth has gone through many bad situations including six mass extinctions. One of the worst disasters Earth face time to time is volcano eruption. Scientists have recently found about a deadly volcano activity in India right before the famous asteroid impact that killed all the dinosaurs. The Indian volcano eruption released enormous quantity of carbon dioxide and increased temperature of the atmosphere. Many species were killed by this volcano eruption. Now, a historian and several scientists have shown that 536 CE was the worst year to be alive on Earth for humans.

(Volcano Eruption. Photo Courtesy: Doctor-a from Pixabay)

Science magazine has reported about how 536 was the worst year from a collection of researches. In 536, Europe, Middle East and some parts of Asia including China were covered by a mysterious fog for 18 months. The temperature was reduced in the range of 1.5°C to 2.5°C, which created coldest decade for the last 2300 years. The snow fall affected the agriculture. The reason for the mysterious fog was a volcanic eruption happened in Iceland. It was confirmed by the researches done with ice cores from Swiss Alps, Antarctica and Greenland and ice from a Swiss glacier. The researchers were looking for chemical substances that might came from the Icelandic volcanic eruption and settled in the ice. 

(Volcanic Ash. Photo Courtesy: Pexels from Pixabay)

They also used X-rays to identify chemicals in volcanic glass particles. The volcanic glass particles found in Swiss and Greenland were matched with Iceland’s volcanic rocks. Volcanoes usually release sulfur and bismuth, which can be trapped as aerosol in the atmosphere. Such aerosol can reflect the sun light away from the Earth and cause a reduction in temperature. These collective studies also reveal that there were two more volcanic eruptions in 540 and 547. These volcanic eruptions and a plague epidemic in 541 created an economic problem in Europe until 640.

Fortunately, we still have glaciers and polar ice to do this type of researches. If we lose these ices to climate change, we will not able to do such a precious research.