The April 1815 climax of Mount Tambora, rated 7 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index, was the most powerful eruption in recorded human history. Its stratospheric ash veil cooled global temperatures by about half a degree Celsius, producing the Year Without a Summer of 1816, with June frosts in New England, failed harvests across Europe and disrupted Asian monsoons, the clearest historical demonstration that a single volcano can shift the climate of the whole planet.
Facts
Event DateThe date of the violent climax; the eruption sequence began earlier and activity continued into August 1815. Magnitude or ScaleVolcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) 7, the most powerful eruption in recorded human history 1 LocationMount Tambora, Sumbawa, Dutch East Indies (present day Indonesia) 1 Disputed
Death TollAbout 10,000 to 11,000 killed directly; totals including post-eruption famine and disease range from about 60,000 to 100,000 1 Tanguy and colleagues (1998) count 11,000 direct and 49,000 famine and epidemic deaths; Oppenheimer estimates at least 71,000 in total; Reid's estimate reaches 100,000. Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Rated Volcanic Explosivity Index 7, among the two largest VEI values recorded for any eruption in this atlas.
In Discipline
The 1816 Year Without a Summer that followed is a foundational case study in how volcanic aerosols force climate.
Sources
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