Historedia
Asia PacificEvent

Mount Tambora eruption

When
1815–1816
Where
Sumbawa; Global climate anomaly, strongest in the Northern Hemisphere
Episodes
2

Mount Tambora erupted in April 1815, becoming the largest recorded eruption. It released massive sulfur, causing global cooling and the Year Without a Summer in 1816. The event exacerbated existing climate anomalies, leading to severe weather and crop failures in the Northern Hemisphere.

Episodes

  1. 5-10 April 1815 · SumbawaEruption Sequence

    Tambora erupted violently on 5 April 1815, with sounds heard across the region. The climax occurred on 10 April, followed by ongoing activity.

  2. 1816 · Global climate anomaly, strongest in the Northern HemisphereGlobal Climate Anomaly

    Sulfur release caused global cooling, leading to the Year Without a Summer in 1816. Northern Hemisphere temperatures dropped significantly during the summer of 1816.

Background and detail

Background. Mount Tambora had been dormant for centuries due to cooling magma. It became highly active in 1812, culminating in a violent climax in April 1815. The eruption was classified as VEI-7, releasing up to 150 cubic kilometers of material. This massive event was the largest observed in recorded history, significantly impacting global climate patterns.

Climate Impact. The eruption released sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, creating a global climate anomaly. Global temperatures decreased by 0.4–0.7 °C in 1816, known as the Year Without a Summer. A persistent dry fog was observed in the northeastern United States. The 1810s became the coldest decade on record, with 1816 being the second-coldest year since 1400.

Weather Anomalies. Northern Hemisphere countries suffered extreme weather in 1816. Rainfall was 80 percent higher than normal, with unusual snow in Europe. The Elbe and Ohře Rivers froze for twelve days in February 1816. Crops had been poor since 1812, but the Tambora eruption delivered the final blow, exacerbating conditions already influenced by the Dalton Minimum.

Sources

  1. 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-30
  2. Year Without a Summer Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-16
  3. Mount Tambora Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-24

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.