The Winter Before The End: The Year Without a Summer

In 1816, summer seemed to disappear. Temperatures plunged, frost and snow struck during months that should have been warm, crops failed, and communities across Europe and North America faced hunger and uncertainty. The strange year would become known as the Year Without a Summer.

In this episode of The House of Strange, we explore the extreme weather of 1816 and the massive 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia that helped trigger a global climate disaster. As volcanic material altered the atmosphere, temperatures fell and devastating crop failures contributed to food shortages, famine, disease, and social unrest.

From the eruption of Mount Tambora to the eerie weather that followed across the world, the Year Without a Summer is a story of volcanic winter, climate catastrophe, and a year when people looked toward darkened skies and wondered whether the seasons themselves had begun to fail.