5 Worst Years to Be Alive

Over 75, 000 years ago, a single catastrophic event almost wiped out humanity. The exact date of the Toba supervolcano explosion in modernday Indonesia is unknown, but researchers consider it the planet s largest volcanic eruption in the past 28 million years. An estimated 1, 700 cubic miles of rock erupted from the Toba volcano and formed a crater lake that is visible even from space. As parts of Indonesia, India, and the Indian ocean became covered by six inches of volcanic debris, ash and volcanic gases rose to the atmosphere, partly blocking sunlight. The partial darkness caused a volcanic winter, and worldwide temperatures reached five degrees. While it s impossible to accurately calculate how many humans succumbed to the decadelong volcanic winter, scientists have still tried to calculate the number. According to several researchers, the human population could have been reduced to as little as 3, 000 to 10, 000 people, nearly driving humanity to extinction. In 19