Mount Tambora Eruption Causes the Year Without a Summer

Mount Tambora on Sumbawa, Indonesia erupted on April 10, 1815, ejecting approximately 100 cubic kilometers of material and creating a stratospheric sulfate aerosol veil that circled the globe. In 1816, Northern Hemisphere temperatures dropped by 0.4–0.7°C, producing the coldest summer temperatures recorded in Europe between 1766 and 2000. Crop failures occurred simultaneously in New England, Western Europe, and China, followed by famine across three continents. The eruption killed approximately 40,000 people directly and an estimated 107,000 more through starvation and disease.