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WonderHistory fact

The eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia in April 1815, the most powerful in recorded history, cooled the globe so much that 1816 became known as the “Year Without a Summer”.

History

History

The story behind the card

Tambora stands on the island of Sumbawa in today's Indonesia. It had rumbled since 1812, and on 10 April 1815 the eruption reached its climax; the explosions were heard more than 2,000 kilometres away and the mountain lost about a third of its height. At least 10,000 people died directly, and tens of thousands more on Sumbawa and nearby Lombok died of hunger and disease. The eruption sent millions of tonnes of sulphur gas into the stratosphere, the upper atmosphere, where it formed a veil that reflected sunlight, and summer temperatures in 1816 fell by about half a degree Celsius worldwide. Snow fell in the north-eastern United States in June, harvests failed across Europe and North America, and food riots followed. In Switzerland that wet summer kept Mary Shelley indoors, where she began Frankenstein.

Türkçe oku
Endonezya'daki Tambora Yanardağı, Nisan 1815'te kayıtlı tarihin en güçlü patlamasıyla püskürdü. Dünya öyle soğudu ki 1816 “yazsız yıl” diye anıldı.

Tambora, bugün Endonezya'ya bağlı olan Sumbawa Adası'ndadır. 1812'den beri gürlüyordu; 10 Nisan 1815'te patlama doruğa ulaştı. Patlamanın sesi 2.000 kilometreden daha uzaktan duyuldu ve dağ yüksekliğinin yaklaşık üçte birini yitirdi. En az 10.000 kişi doğrudan patlamada, on binlercesi de Sumbawa'da ve komşu Lombok Adası'nda açlık ve salgınlarda öldü. Patlama milyonlarca ton kükürt gazını atmosferin üst katmanı olan stratosfere taşıdı. Orada oluşan ince perde güneş ışığını geri yansıttı ve 1816 yazında dünya genelinde sıcaklıklar yaklaşık yarım derece düştü. ABD'nin kuzeydoğusunda haziranda kar yağdı; Avrupa'da ve Kuzey Amerika'da hasat başarısız oldu, açlık isyanları çıktı. İsviçre'de o yağmurlu yaz Mary Shelley'yi eve kapattı; Frankenstein'ı yazmaya orada başladı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Year Without a Summer
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