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I never heard of this before, though I had heard about the 1816 "year without a summer".
"A mysterious fog plunged Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia into darkness, day and night—for 18 months. 'For the sun gave forth its light without brightness, like the moon, during the whole year,' wrote Byzantine historian Procopius. Temperatures in the summer of 536 fell 1.5°C to 2.5°C, initiating the coldest decade in the past 2300 years. Snow fell that summer in China; crops failed; people starved. The Irish chronicles record 'a failure of bread from the years 536–539.' Then, in 541, bubonic plague struck the Roman port of Pelusium, in Egypt. What came to be called the Plague of Justinian spread rapidly, wiping out one-third to one-half of the population of the eastern Roman Empire and hastening its collapse, McCormick says."
Interesting. I've never heard of it either. Looks like it was the result of a volcano, just like in 1816. It's amazing what can be garnered by analyzing ice cores.
Remember a few years ago when the Icelandic volcano (it had an unpronounceable name) caused a bit of havoc, including interfering with airliners? The one in 536 must have been a doozy.
Makes you wonder if it might not be wise to stash away enough food to last a year or more, doesn't it? It would be interesting to know whether there was much effect in a more southerly direction, too.
I never heard of this before, though I had heard about the 1816 "year without a summer".
"A mysterious fog plunged Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia into darkness, day and night—for 18 months. 'For the sun gave forth its light without brightness, like the moon, during the whole year,' wrote Byzantine historian Procopius. Temperatures in the summer of 536 fell 1.5°C to 2.5°C, initiating the coldest decade in the past 2300 years. Snow fell that summer in China; crops failed; people starved. The Irish chronicles record 'a failure of bread from the years 536–539.' Then, in 541, bubonic plague struck the Roman port of Pelusium, in Egypt. What came to be called the Plague of Justinian spread rapidly, wiping out one-third to one-half of the population of the eastern Roman Empire and hastening its collapse, McCormick says."
It is scary how mother nature can just finish everything in a moment. Theres a romantic element to Pompeii in that how all their worries or concerns about business or future were wiped out completely in such a short burst of time. They ceased to exist as a community.
They say if the Yellowstone erupts it could be stay home for a week in New York.
I think our own personal time span on mother earth is so short we fail to comprehend how fragile the planet is and at any moment somewhere on the globe a natural catastrophe could cause us great harm or even extinction.
The cold spell/fog of 536 could've been caused by a volcanic eruption. 1981 and 1982 were two of the coldest winters on record, which immediately followed the Mt. St. Helens eruption. 1992 and 93 were also very cold winters, which were preceded by the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines in June 1991.
The cold spell/fog of 536 could've been caused by a volcanic eruption. 1981 and 1982 were two of the coldest winters on record, which immediately followed the Mt. St. Helens eruption. 1992 and 93 were also very cold winters, which were preceded by the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines in June 1991.
That is what is postulated, that a "cataclysmic volcanic eruption in Iceland spewed ash across the Northern Hemisphere early in 536." Researchers studied ice cores.
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