Volcanic eruption led to the Black Death, new research suggests

(CNN) — The Black Death — one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, estimated to have killed up to half of Europe’s population — might have been set in motion by a volcanic eruption, a new study suggests.

By looking at tree rings from across Europe to better understand 14th century climate, checking data against ice core samples from Antarctica and Greenland, and analyzing historical documents, researchers have constructed a “perfect storm” scenario that could explain the origin of the historic tragedy. They reported their findings Thursday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

The study authors believe an eruption occurred around 1345, about two years before the start of the pandemic, from either a single volcano or a cluster of volcanoes of unknown location, l