7. The Summer That Wasn’t

Image Credit

The idea of a “nuclear winter” is often brought up when the subject of nuclear war is brought up and it’s well known that the phenomenon can also be caused by a volcano. Way back in 1816, ash that spewed from numerous volcanoes partially obscured the sun’s energy and resulted in temperatures well below normal. With snow falling in New England in June and ice forming on lakes in Pennsylvania in July and August, 1816 was often referred to as the year without a summer. Europe and the United States were particularly hard hit with some 200,000 people dying in from cold and starvation in Europe alone.