:focal(1280x719:1281x720)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/75/69/75691b20-8ec4-4232-b770-afcfa1d87d76/trionfo-della-morte-mb-ls.jpg "Volcanic eruption in 1345 may have triggered Black Death – Research")
A new study suggests that a volcanic eruption around 1345 may have triggered the chain of events that led to the Black Death’s arrival in Europe. Ash from the blast likely cooled the Mediterranean region for several years, causing crop failures and famine. As Italian cities sought grain from the Black Sea region to survive, they may have unintentionally imported plague-infected fleas carried by rats. This offers a fresh explanation for how Yersinia pestis reached Europe before the 1347 outbreak.
Tree-ring evidence from multiple European sites showed unusually cold, wet summers from 1345 to 1347, aligning with written accounts of harvest failures and forcing grain imports from the Black Sea. Ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland also point to a tropical volcanic eruption around that time. Researchers say the findings highlight how climate shifts and global trade combined to fuel the pandemic that killed up to 60 percent of Europe’s population, though the exact volcano behind the event remains unknown.