In 1806, that is, in the twenty-first year of Jiaqing, a serious natural disaster occurred, with snow in June in southern China and frost in the north, and almost no grain harvest, forcing people to eat tree roots and even change seeds.
This year was hailed as "the coldest summer in history", so how cold was China more than 200 years ago? What causes such a natural disaster?
In 1806, the strange sight of snowfall in June inexplicably appeared in some parts of China, which made the people feel inexplicably panicked.
Later, according to the research of scientists, it was concluded that it was mainly caused by the eruption of a volcano located on the island of Sambawa in Indonesia. The eruption caused the destruction of many fields, forests and roads in Indonesia, leaving many people homeless, and the volcano is Tambora.
The eruption of Mount Tambora is the largest volcanic eruption in human history, and the power it produces is equivalent to the power of a dozen atomic bows, which is very terrifying.
This eruption was not only a serious persecution for Indonesia itself, but also for other surrounding countries.
This global disaster has caused temperatures to plummet and snow in the summer, with average temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere dropping by 0.4-0.7°C according to conservative estimates. Many parts of the mainland are no exception, such as Yunnan.
Yunnan was originally a beautiful place, with four seasons like spring and beautiful ancient towns. However, as volcanoes continue to erupt, the temperature difference between day and night gradually increases, and climate fluctuations also cause food panic, and some people even sell their blood and children to satisfy their hunger in order to survive. According to relevant documents, the snowfall in June caused the crops to almost freeze to death, and the farmers did not harvest.
In addition, in order to fill their stomachs, some people actually eat tree roots, which do not have any nutrients, and eating too much is not good for the body. Even so, it doesn't stop refugees from searching for roots.
The continuous eruption of the volcano also indirectly led to the once-in-a-millennium flooding in Yunnan. It was raining heavily, which caused floods that ruthlessly destroyed people's happy homes.
The fire and water were ruthless, and the local government was helpless, and could only watch the flood inundate the entire village.
In a remote farm in Yunnan, there are skinny children everywhere, they have no food to eat, no place to sleep, and what is even more terrifying is that they have no warm clothes to wear, so they can only huddle together to keep each other warm.
It is not easy to survive in such a harsh environment, so in the face of natural disasters, human beings are so small.
In addition to Yunnan, other provinces have also experienced frost disasters. For example, the Northeast region. In the northeast, there were several consecutive frosts, and the thickness of the ice exceeded 5cm, and many people were frozen to death.
Before the disaster, farmers were always hoping for a bumper harvest today, but the result was a sad one.
In general, the frost is mainly concentrated in October-November, which is the last season of autumn. However, this time it lasted for a long time, and many elderly people and children were infected with the wind cold, and even lost their lives in serious cases.
In addition, the areas around Jiangsu and Zhejiang were affected by the cold weather, and it snowed heavily for many days, and the ground was covered with thick snow. The thick snow makes it inconvenient for people to travel.
The disaster was unprecedented, affecting dozens of counties, adding to the hardships of farmers who were not well-off.
During the disaster, many local officials also proposed some measures, but they all failed, and the Qing Dynasty government at that time was in a mess.
Stills, not me
In addition to China, a similar situation has occurred in some European countries. About two or three hundred thousand people across Europe died from the cold summer.
A foreign scientist said that human beings must understand natural phenomena and strengthen their ability to cope with natural disasters in order to avoid threats to human beings.
This catastrophe is a reminder to people around the world of how small human beings are in the face of the forces of nature. In many cases, we should conform to nature and not destroy it, otherwise it will be human beings who will be harmed the most.
For example, Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge incident may have more serious consequences in the future, but the time has not yet come. Only by respecting and caring for nature can we survive longer.
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