536 — The worst year in Human history

Day 250 / 365

It had started raining again in Mumbai, after about a week of nice sunny weather. It seems one of the worst weather I have seen in the past few years. However bad it may be, it pales in comparison to the situation we had in the year 536.

What was so bad about it? Well, the climate was weird, to say the least. For about 18 months, the skies were covered with a mysterious fog. The sun was visibly faintly and was very dim, just like the moon is at night. The temperature in the summer fell by 2.5 degrees Celcius. Crops failed all across the globe. People starved.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, in the years to follow the Roman empire was struck by the bubonic plague, wiping out a third of their population.

Here are some written testimonies about that year-

“during this year a most dread portent took place. For the sun gave forth its light without brightness … and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear.” — Procopius

“the sun became dark and its darkness lasted for eighteen months. Each day it shone for about four hours, and still this light was only a feeble shadow … the fruits did not ripen and the wine tasted like sour grapes.” — Michael the Syrian

The cause of this event is still unknown, but the best guess is that it was caused by a volcanic eruption.

This post is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here

Yesterday’s blog — Productivity Tips from Deep Work