New research from sediment cores in a Kenya-Tanzania crater lake suggests the Mount Toba eruption ~74,000 years ago caused only about two years of cooling—roughly half a degree—challenging the long-held "near-extinction" hypothesis. The study highlights that larger sulfate aerosols from massive eruptions settle faster, reducing their climate impact and explaining why prior computer models produced wildly varying estimates.
Background
The Mount Toba eruption is the largest volcanic event in the last 2.6 million years and has been hypothesized to have caused a severe volcanic winter that drastically reduced early human populations. This study uses African lake sediment records to reassess the actual climate impact.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- Aug 9, 2026 at 07:00 PM
- Score
- 7.0 / 10