AstroGeo: Volcanic Year 1783: When the Laki Fires on Iceland Changed the World

In 1873 the most severe volcanic eruptions of human history raged. This episode tells of the eyewitnesses of a pastor and of the year without summer in Europe.

Published on: 29.05.2025 05:00Author: Karl UrbanAn Icelandic priest wrote down exactly what happened: One of the most devastating volcanic eruptions in human history first devastated the south of Iceland, but soon also led to crop failures and human suffering in Europe. Could this happen again?

For AstroGeo we regularly research a whole story. Only if you support us financially, the podcast will remain free of charge. Thank you! On June 8, 1873, the priest Jón Steingrímsson in the south of Iceland sees a black cloud over his community and hears a distant grumbling. It is the beginning of a volcanic eruption that has begun not far from the village of Prestbakki. This eruption will not only hit Iceland's peasant society hard for a long t…