536 AD Gave Us An Apocalypse That We Barely Even Remember

2026 IS A TERRIBLE YEAR, BUT NOTHING COMPARED TO 536 AD, THAT GAVE US A MINI APOCALYPSE

If you’re not a billionaire, or even briefly a trillionaire, the past year hasn’t been all that great. In fact, the past year has been pretty much dreadful and there’s no getting around it. And looking forward into the immediate future seems pretty bleak at the moment. So why not look back to one of the worst years humanity has ever known? You know, for context? Because the year I’m talking about is 536 AD, which gave everyone a virtual apocalypse we can barely even remember today. Things are pretty bad today. But at least we’re not saying, “Hey! How’s your apocalypse going today?” Well, not quite yet, anyway.

THE WORLD LOST THE SUN FOR 18-20 MONTHS, AND WREAKED HAVOC ON PEOPLE EVERYWHERE

But for people who were alive back in 536, no one had to ask, regardless of wherever they lived on the entirety of planet Earth. Historic references offer some local context. Procopius, the Roman historian, recorded that “the sun gave forth its light without brightness…. and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse.” He’s saying the days were dark for a year and a half. Others recorded how the sun wasn’t strong enough to cast any shadows at noon, full moons were just visible, winters had no storms, springs barely registered, and summers never even got hot. Essentially, this mini Apocalypse was from the sun’s rays being blocked, for 18 months. And as bad years go, that’s really bad.

2018 Kilauea Eruption Caused Huge Phytoplankton Bloom

536 AD KILLED A LOT OF PEOPLE BY STARVATION, THOUGH CHINA SAW SOMETHING EVEN WORSE

Because if you’re missing the sun, you can’t grow enough, or any, food. And that was the case in 536 until the end of 537. No one knew why this was happening at the time. And while we know now, we still don’t know the particulars. The cause was 2 or more major volcanic eruptions (we don’t know which ones or where) that blasted world wide sun-blocking sulfate aerosols that caused a mini-apocalypse. We’re talking temperature drops everywhere, failed crops everywhere. The Guanzhong region of China had a famine so bad that it killed 70-80% of everyone, and caused rampant cannibalism among the survivors. 536 kind of makes this current year seem pretty tame in comparison.

So what else? Oh, not much. Just that 536 also caused that little trifle known as the Plague of Justinian.