Volcanic eruption may have triggered Europe's deadly Black Death plague

Key Highlights

• A volcanic eruption around 1345 may have initiated the Black Death in Europe.
• The eruption caused climate changes that led to poor harvests and famine.
• Italian city-states imported grain from the Black Sea, introducing plague-carrying fleas.
• The Black Death, beginning in 1347, killed over half of Europe's population.
• The study linking the eruption to the plague was published in Communications Earth & Environment.