If you had to pick the worst year of all time, ever, which would you pick?
Maybe any year between 1941 and 1945, the years of the Holocaust? Or maybe 1903, during the smallpox epidemic? You could even argue that this year, 2018, gives all the aforementioned years a run for their money.
That’s a question some historical researchers at Harvard University have, arguably, found the answer to, according to Science Magazine.
The year they’ve come up with? 536AD.
Most horrible times in history are dependent on who you are and where you were in that period of time; plagues can be geographically contained, and things like war and prejudice usually only affect certain civilisations at a time.
However, 536AD stands out because just about everyone on Earth suffered the same fate: huge dust clouds blocked out the sun, creating an immediate drop in temperatures and a climate catastrophe that lasted a century.
Which meant that everything bad that could happen – drought, famine, plague, economic collapse, and the political instability that comes with all the aforementioned – did.
Just about everyone during 536AD.
According to researchers, the dust cloud may have been brought about by sudden volcanic eruptions, that spewed thick ash into the sky and blanketed Europe, Asia, and the Middle East in darkness.
Things didn’t recover for civilisation on Earth until around 640AD, where trace amounts of lead in ice rings suggests the beginning of a new Industrial Age.
So the next time you wish you lived in any other time, spare a thought for anyone living in 536AD, who may well have had it tougher than any of us ever will.
