‘The Sun was dark and its darkness lasted for 18 months’ – what we can learn from worst volcanic eruptions in history

Eruption of Vesuvius by Pierre Jacques Volaire in 1771. Europe was plunged into darkness and suffered from intense crop failures and famines in the years AD536 and AD1258, after massive volcanic eruptions. When many people think of volcanic eruptions, they envisage deadly lava flows and suffocating ash fall. The fate of the inhabitants of Pompeii after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the year AD79 still resonates today. Yet, volcanic eruptions have more wide-ranging consequences than is…