Nature

Climate-driven changes in Mediterranean grain trade mitigated famine but introduced the Black Death to medieval Europe

Live Science

Volcanic eruption triggered 'butterfly effect' that led to the Black Death, researchers find

Reddit

Volcanic_Eruption_Led_To_The_Black_Death_New

Popular Science

Medieval volcanoes may have ignited the Black Death

BBC News

Volcanic eruption may have triggered Europe's Black Death plague

Discover Magazine

Volcanic Eruptions May Have Been Responsible for the Spread of Black Death in Medieval Europe

University of Cambridge

Volcanic eruptions set off a chain of events that brought the Black Death to Europe

New Scientist

Volcano eruption may have led to the Black Death coming to Europe

National Geographic

Volcanoes may have helped spread the Black Death

PHYS

How volcanic eruptions set off a chain of events that brought the Black Death to Europe

Science

Medieval volcano may have indirectly sparked Europe’s Black Death

A volcanic eruption may have catalyzed the plague's arrival in Europe, study suggests

Fox 28 Spokane

Volcanoes set off chain of events that brought Black Death to Europe

The Telegraph

Black Death Was Caused By Volcanic Eruption

The Times

How volcanoes triggered the Black Death in medieval Europe

Volcanic eruption led to the Black Death pandemic, study suggests

Independent

How volcanic eruptions brought the Black Death to Europe

Scientific American

The Black Death May Be Linked to a Mysterious Volcanic Eruption

EurekAlert!

Environmental science: Volcanic activity may have brought the Black Death to medieval Europe

Science News

A volcanic eruption might have helped bring the Black Plague to Europe

Metaculus

Ragnark Question Series: If a global catastrophe occurs, will it be due to naturally occuring pandemics?

Charles III

Donald Trump

Elon Musk

Joe Biden

Nancy Pelosi

Xi Jinping

Rishi Sunak

Kamala Harris

Justin Trudeau

Narendra Modi

Bill Gates

Pope Francis

Janet Yellen

Emmanuel Macron

Olaf Scholz

Angela Merkel

Yuval Noah Harari

António Guterres

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Barack Obama

Kofi Annan

Michael Mann

James Inhofe

Greta Thunberg

David Attenborough

Giorgia Meloni

Patrick Michaels

Jane Goodall

Bjorn Lomborg

Freeman Dyson

"[C]limate change is just a very, very expensive form of tax."

"I believe in climate change caused by human beings. What I'm skeptical about is the glib notion that it means the end of the world as we know it."

"The clock is no longer just ticking, it is banging."

"There is no long-term prosperity without action on climate change."

"The time for seeking global solutions [to climate change] is running out."

"The climate crisis is the existential threat. That's not hyperbole; it's a fact."

"[W]e are killing our planet."

Climate change is "above all, an existential crisis."

"Climate change is one of the greatest challenges mankind faces."

"If we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon."

"Humanity is on thin ice — and that ice is melting fast."

"We haven't yet exceeded the bounds of viable human civilisation, but we're getting close."

Is Climate Change an Existential Threat?

The Black Death spread through Europe between 1347 and 1353, killing an estimated 25 to 50 million people and eliminating more than half the continent's population in some areas. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe have proposed that volcanic eruptions around 1345 triggered a chain of events leading to the pandemic's arrival in Europe.

The Black Death spread through Europe between 1347 and 1353, killing an estimated 25 to 50 million people and eliminating more than half the continent's population in some areas. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe have proposed that volcanic eruptions around 1345 triggered a chain of events leading to the pandemic's arrival in Europe.

Tree ring analysis from the Spanish Pyrenees revealed consecutive blue rings in 1345, 1346 and 1347, indicating unusually cold and wet summers across southern Europe. Ice core data from Greenland and Antarctica showed sulfur spikes aligned with these cold periods, suggesting volcanic activity that injected an estimated 14 teragram of sulfur into the atmosphere.

Tree ring analysis from the Spanish Pyrenees revealed consecutive blue rings in 1345, 1346 and 1347, indicating unusually cold and wet summers across southern Europe. Ice core data from Greenland and Antarctica showed sulfur spikes aligned with these cold periods, suggesting volcanic activity that injected an estimated 14 teragram of sulfur into the atmosphere.

The volcanic cooling caused widespread crop failures and famine across the Mediterranean region, including Spain, southern France, northern and central Italy, Egypt and the Levant. Wheat prices in 1347 surged to their highest levels in 80 years, threatening political unrest and rebellion in major Italian cities.

The volcanic cooling caused widespread crop failures and famine across the Mediterranean region, including Spain, southern France, northern and central Italy, Egypt and the Levant. Wheat prices in 1347 surged to their highest levels in 80 years, threatening political unrest and rebellion in major Italian cities.

Italian city states including Venice and Genoa had been engaged in a war with the Mongol Empire over control of Black Sea trade since 1343, cutting off access to grain supplies from that region. In 1347, facing severe food shortages, these cities negotiated a ceasefire with the Mongols to resume grain imports from the Black Sea area.

Italian city states including Venice and Genoa had been engaged in a war with the Mongol Empire over control of Black Sea trade since 1343, cutting off access to grain supplies from that region. In 1347, facing severe food shortages, these cities negotiated a ceasefire with the Mongols to resume grain imports from the Black Sea area.

Grain ships returning from Black Sea ports in what is now Crimea and Ukraine in 1347 carried fleas infected with Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for the plague. The fleas likely fed on grain dust during the voyage and jumped to local rats and humans once the cargo was distributed in Italian ports.

Grain ships returning from Black Sea ports in what is now Crimea and Ukraine in 1347 carried fleas infected with Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for the plague. The fleas likely fed on grain dust during the voyage and jumped to local rats and humans once the cargo was distributed in Italian ports.

Cities that relied on imported grain, such as Venice and Genoa, experienced plague outbreaks first, while cities that grew more of their own food, including Rome and Milan, were largely unaffected during the initial wave. The pattern demonstrates how the climate driven change in trade routes inadvertently facilitated the pandemic's spread.

Cities that relied on imported grain, such as Venice and Genoa, experienced plague outbreaks first, while cities that grew more of their own food, including Rome and Milan, were largely unaffected during the initial wave. The pattern demonstrates how the climate driven change in trade routes inadvertently facilitated the pandemic's spread.

Volcanic Eruptions May Have Triggered Black Death Pandemic

Volcanic Eruptions May Have Triggered Black Death Pandemic

The Controversies

Trump

Michaels

Harris

Sunak

Francis

Biden

Macron

Thunberg

Merkel

Attenborough

Guterres

Mann

Go Deeper

Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters
Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters

Volcanic Eruptions May Have Triggered Black Death Pandemic

Volcanic Eruptions May Have Triggered Black Death Pandemic

The Controversies

Trump

Michaels

Harris

Sunak

Francis

Biden

Macron

Thunberg

Merkel

Attenborough

Guterres

Mann

Go Deeper

Sign Up for Our Free NewslettersSign Up for Our Free Newsletters

Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters
Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters