The Year Without Summer….
April 10, 1815…..
Mount Tambora on the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia erupts. It is the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history. The explosion was heard more than 1,200 miles (2,000 km) away. It released sulfur dioxide (SO2) into the stratosphere, causing global climate anomalies including the phenomenon known as “volcanic winter.” Average global temperatures dropped about 0.7-1.3 °F (0.4-0.7 °C). 1816 became known as the “Year Without Summer” and “Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death” because of the effect on North American and European weather. The volcanic fallout ruined agricultural productivity in the local region resulting in the worst famine of the 19th century causing massive deaths due to starvation and disease. The total death toll was at least 71,000 people, of whom 11,000-12,000 were killed directly by the eruption.