Laki, a volcano in Iceland, begins an eight-month eruption which kills over 9,000 people and starts a seven-year famine.

Laki, also known as Lakagígar, is a volcanic fissure located in southern Iceland, part of the larger volcanic system associated with the Grímsvötn volcano beneath the Vatnajökull glacier. It’s most infamous for its catastrophic eruption in 1783–1784, one of the deadliest and most environmentally impactful eruptions in recorded history. Over an 8-month period, Laki spewed out an estimated 14 cubic kilometers of basaltic lava and vast amounts of sulfur dioxide and fluorine gas. The eruption caused widespread devastation in Iceland—killing livestock, destroying crops, and triggering a famine that led to the death of about a quarter of the population. But the effects reached far beyond: the emitted gases altered weather patterns across Europe and even contributed to a drop in global temperatures, leading to crop failures and food shortages as far away as India and Japan. Laki is a stark reminder of how a single volcanic event can reshape not just local geography, but global climate and human history.