Why 536 Ad Was The Worst Year To Be Alive: A Mysterious Fog That Blocked Out The Sun Causing Widespread Famine Was The Worst Global Disaster In History
By Joe Pinkstone
The Daily Mail
Bubonic plague, famine, war and flu pandemics have made some periods of human history infamous for death and suffering but one year stands above the rest in terms of misery; 536AD.
According to research from a Harvard professor, it is a prime candidate for the unfortunate accolade of the worst year in the entirety of recorded history.
Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia were plunged into 18 months of solid darkness by a mysterious fog.
It caused snowfall in China, continental-scale crop failure, extreme drought, famine and disease throughout most of the northern hemisphere.
The bleak year was triggered by a cataclysmic Icelandic eruption, scientists say, and was an ominous omen for a bleak century of suffering and death.
Michael McCormick, a Harvard University archaeologist and medieval historian, told Science Magazine that the world did not show signs of recovery until 640AD.
'It was the beginning of one of the worst periods to be alive, if not the worst year,' Dr McCormick said.
The eerie fog created a drab world with darkness residing over the northern hemisphere for 18 months, with an unrelenting dusk persevering through day and night.
Effects on the climate were so severe that the Irish chronicles tell of 'a failure of bread from the years 536–539'.
Temperatures in the summer of 536 fell between 1.5°C (2.7°F) and 2.5°C (4.5°F), initiating the coldest decade in the past 2,300 years.
The international devastation triggered by the unidentified fog gave rise to the moniker 'The Dark Ages' which has been used to refer to this ominous time.
(THL) And next time you hear someone fearmongering about man-made climate change endangering humanity, share this with them and let them know there are bigger dangers ahead than humanity's use of fossil fuels, and that to be ready for them, we cannot halt or slow our economic and technological development.
The Daily Mail
Bubonic plague, famine, war and flu pandemics have made some periods of human history infamous for death and suffering but one year stands above the rest in terms of misery; 536AD.
According to research from a Harvard professor, it is a prime candidate for the unfortunate accolade of the worst year in the entirety of recorded history.
Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia were plunged into 18 months of solid darkness by a mysterious fog.
It caused snowfall in China, continental-scale crop failure, extreme drought, famine and disease throughout most of the northern hemisphere.
The bleak year was triggered by a cataclysmic Icelandic eruption, scientists say, and was an ominous omen for a bleak century of suffering and death.
Michael McCormick, a Harvard University archaeologist and medieval historian, told Science Magazine that the world did not show signs of recovery until 640AD.
'It was the beginning of one of the worst periods to be alive, if not the worst year,' Dr McCormick said.
The eerie fog created a drab world with darkness residing over the northern hemisphere for 18 months, with an unrelenting dusk persevering through day and night.
Effects on the climate were so severe that the Irish chronicles tell of 'a failure of bread from the years 536–539'.
Temperatures in the summer of 536 fell between 1.5°C (2.7°F) and 2.5°C (4.5°F), initiating the coldest decade in the past 2,300 years.
The international devastation triggered by the unidentified fog gave rise to the moniker 'The Dark Ages' which has been used to refer to this ominous time.
Read the rest at The Daily Mail.
(THL) And next time you hear someone fearmongering about man-made climate change endangering humanity, share this with them and let them know there are bigger dangers ahead than humanity's use of fossil fuels, and that to be ready for them, we cannot halt or slow our economic and technological development.
