ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Year Without a Summer

Okay kiddo, do you remember how every year we have different seasons like winter, spring, summer, and fall? Well, a long time ago in the year 1816, something strange happened in some parts of the world, especially in Europe and North America. They had a year without a proper summer, and it was called "the Year Without a Summer."

Now, what happened was that in late 1815, there was a massive volcanic eruption in a place called Mount Tambora, which is in Indonesia. When the volcano exploded, it sent a lot of ash and gases up into the air and caused a big cloud that went all around the world.

It was like having a giant umbrella over the Earth that blocked out the sun's rays. The cloud was so big that it caused global cooling, which meant that it made the Earth's temperature a lot colder.

When it's cold, we usually wear thicker clothes, stay inside, and keep ourselves warm. But for plants and crops, they need warmth and sunlight to grow. So, the unusual cold weather caused crops to wither, and that meant there wasn't enough food for people and animals to eat.

It also caused a lot of problems for people who were traveling or living outside. There were heavy snowfalls in June and July in some places, and there were even frost and ice in summer!

So, the Year Without a Summer was a tough time for many people. But, they learned from this experience and tried to prepare for any future events that might happen. Nowadays, scientists keep a close watch on volcanoes and other natural occurrences that could affect our weather and take steps to minimize the impact.