The 536 CE volcanic dust veil and Late Antique Little Ice Age

Record summary

Tree rings, ice cores and historical descriptions indicate unusually cold and dim conditions beginning around 536 CE, followed by further volcanic episodes and sustained climatic instability. Researchers have linked the event to eruptions, including candidates in the tropics or high latitudes, and have examined effects on agriculture, disease and political systems. It is a valuable comparison between geophysical forcing and late antique social change. Uncertainty remains over the exact eruption sources, local severity and the extent to which climate drove rather than intensified existing conflicts.