The Worst Year in Human History

Humans have existed for hundreds of thousands of years, so choosing a year that brought upon the largest level of hardship for the largest amount of people is a difficult task. That being said, a general consensus has been made over what many historians think the worst year actually is. Before we get there though, let us go over some honorable mentions. First is 1349 A.D., which is on the list for one major reason: The bubonic plague, which killed around half of Europe. Another possible contender is 1914, the year that the world fell into political unrest as Archduke Franz Ferdinand got assassinated and war loomed around the corner. However, the true worst year to be alive was 536. During this time, the climate of the entire world was horrifically altered due to a series of volcanic eruptions covering the world’s skies in ash. Darkness defined 536, as the sun gave off the same amount of light as the moon usually would. Temperatures were at a record low in Europe and Asia, causing snow to fall in the summer season. This temperature change resulted in widespread crop failure, leading to widespread famine. 

Source:

 https://www.science.org/content/article/why-536-was-worst-year-be-alive