A volcanic eruption around the year 1345 may have set off a chain reaction that unleashed Europe’s deadliest pandemic, the Black Death, scientists say.
Clues preserved in tree rings suggest the eruption triggered a climate shock and led to a string of events that brought the disease to medieval Europe.
Under this scenario, the ash and gases from a volcanic eruption caused extreme drops in temperature and led to poor harvests.
To avert famine, populous Italian city states were forced to import grain from areas around the Black Sea – bringing plague-carrying fleas that carried the disease to Europe as well.
