5HFLHQW�DQDO\VLV�RI�%ULWDLQ·V�weather over the past 700

years have found that many

of our extreme summers

and devasting winters were

not random events after all,

but were linked to the

eruptions of supervolcanoe

thousands of miles away.

Having trawled through

historical archives for

droughts, storms, blizzards,

huricanes, poor harvests,

floods, roasting summers

and freezing winters, it has

It is also well documented

that following the eruption of

Mount Vesuius in Italy,

violent storms and freezing

winters followed.

In 1883 Krakatona, which is

now known as the worlds first

global catastrophe, as tragic

stories of the survivors made

it the first news story to go

(literally) around the world,

putting it in the collective

mind as the most famous

volcanic explosion on Earth.

The news about the eruption,

its following tsunami and the

36,000+ victims traveled fast

thanks to the recently

installed worldwide

telegraphic network.

The final explosion of

Krakatau produced the

loudest sound ever recorded

and was heard on over 10%

of Earth's area. Reports of a

distant cannonade were

reported from Australia and

the island of Mauritius, more

than 4,650 km distant from

the erupting volcano.

The following year the world

cooled by 1.2C and Britain

was hit by a mix of freezes,

droughts and floods.

Meanwhile in modern

Britain, ash from the 2010

HUXSWLRQ� RI� ,FHODQG·V�(relitavely small) Eyjafjalla-

jökull eruption caused

enormous disruption to air

travel across western and

northern Europe.

As around 20 countries

closed their airspace to

commercial jet traffic, affect-

ing around 10 million travel-

lers, as aviators feared the

volcanic ash would cause

the planes engines to seize

and fall out of the sky.

Supervolcanoes are capable

of producing an ejecta

volume greater than 1,000

km3 (240 cu mi). Like Mount

Vesuvius on the Bay of

Naples, when it destroyed

Pompeii in 79 A.D.

Experts from the European

Science Foundation, say

that the chances of a super

volcano erupting within the

next 80 years are between

five and 10 per cent, but if it

blows then it will have the

potential to wipe out

millions of people.

Scientists say that due to

their far-reaching effects

on climate, food security,

transportation, and supply

chains, these events have

the potential to trigger

global disaster and catas-

trophe, that volcanoes

pose a bigger threat to

Earth and human survival

than nuclear war,

earthquakes and global

warming.

The world's most danger-

ous active volcanoes are

Yellowstone in America,

Mount Vesuvius in

Campagnia, Italy and

Popocatépetl near Mexico

City.

emerged that supervolcanos

are the prime suspect for

freak weather conditions. As

they emit billions of tons of

gas and ashes, (darkening

the sky and thereby cooling

the climate).

Following a massive volcanic

eruption of Mount Vesuvius

in July 1794 the Zuiderzee in

Holland froze over, which

allowed the French cavalry

to attack and capture Dutch

warships.

A black cloud also covered

England and temperatures

plummeted so low that

heavy snow felled trees and

caused thousands of people

to freeze to death.

Likewise, the year after the

1815 eruption of Mount

Tambora in Indonesia, 1816

became known as the 'Year

Without A Summer' the cloud

caused the temperature to

drop to 4C, resulting in a

poor harvest and major food

shortages across the North-

ern Hemisphere.

Daily ReedDAILY REED

REED ALL ABOUT ITEdition: 6

SUPERVOLCANOS