The Year Without a Summer 1816

Caused by the 1815 Eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia

May 21, 2008

Many parts of the world had snow in summer, heavy rainfall, crop failures, disease and starvation due to lack of sunlight.

On April 10th 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted and killed 10,000 people from the explosion and another 82,000 people from related causes such as starvation and disease. To date, Tambora is the world’s worst volcano disaster in recorded history. The mountain, which stood at 13,000 feet tall, was reduced by 4,000 feet and spewed 93 cubic miles of ash into the atmosphere.

Why There was no Summer in 1816

Because the explosion of Mount Tambora was very intense, the ash cloud reached the earth’s stratosphere which enabled it to be carried to other parts of the world. Because it takes time for the ash to circulate, it didn’t drastically affect weather patterns in distant places, such as the Northern Hemisphere, until 1816. The dust in the atmosphere caused less sunlight to pass through, thus causing unseasonably cold temperatures.

There were two other volcanoes that erupted in previous years, La Soufriere in Saint Vincent (1812) and Mayon in the Philippines (1814). Although these volcanoes were not as intense, there was existing dust in the atmosphere and Mount Tambora’s ash made it much worse.

In addition to volcanic activity, the sun was going through a period of low magnetic activity called the Dalton Minimum. Low magnetic activity reduces the number of bright spots on the sun making the sun slightly dimmer. When this occurs, the world experiences cooler temperatures.

The Summer of 1816 Around the World

In New England, there was snow in early June. During the months of July, August and September, night time temperatures dipped and frost occurred on several occasions. July and August were dry so the crops started to suffer from drought. Frost in September caused additional crop failure. The lack of sunlight stunted plant growth and prevented the ripening of produce such as corn.

It is interesting to note that the crop failure in New England caused farmers to move westward. This mass migration shifted the nation’s farming industry away from the eastern part of the nation.

Eastern Canada experienced the same weather conditions as New England with cold waves, frost and drought. Sub-zero temperatures killed crops and at least one foot of snow fell in Quebec City in early June. The crops that managed to survive were killed by early frost in September.

Low temperatures and prolonged rain caused crop failures in Britain. It was the third coldest summer recorded since record-keeping started in 1659. Parts of Europe such as France, Switzerland and Germany suffered famine and crop failure.

Europe was already suffering from food shortages due to the Napoleonic Wars. This caused riots and looting. Many rivers flooded due to higher than normal rainfall. It is estimated that 200,000 people died in Eastern and Southern Europe from hunger and a typhus epidemic. Some countries had ash mixed in with snow.

In Asia and India, the monsoon season was heavy and they experienced unusually low temperatures plus frost. Rice production was drastically reduced which resulted in famine in China. Snow fell in higher elevations in countries where snow does not normally exist. Southern India suffered a cholera epidemic and it is believed to be linked with the unusual weather conditions in 1816.

Mount Tambora is still active with lava flows and dome building inside the crater. The last eruption was in 1967 but it was small and not explosive.

The copyright of the article The Year Without a Summer 1816 in Volcanoes is owned by Maureen K. Fleury. Permission to republish The Year Without a Summer 1816 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.