Toba cataclysmic volcanic event's impact on the global climate

Large-scale global climate disruption following the Younger Toba Tuff supereruption appears to be evident, as per a new study. This explosion occurred approximately 74,000 years ago from the Toba volcano in Indonesia, which was the most significant volcanic event in the past 2 million years....

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2025 September 16 . 10:34 AM

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Catastrophic Toba Volcanic Eruption Impact on Global Climate

Toba cataclysmic volcanic event's impact on the global climate

The Toba supereruption, the largest volcanic eruption in the past 2 million years, occurred approximately 74,000 years ago in Indonesia. A new study, titled "Global climate disruption and regional climate shelters after the Toba supereruption," has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study was conducted by Benjamin A. Black from Rutgers University, Jean-François Lamarque from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Daniel R. Marsh, Anja Schmidt, and Charles Bardeen.

The researchers ran 42 global climate model simulations to assess the climate disruptions caused by the Toba eruption. They used an ensemble simulation approach, which could be useful for understanding other past and future explosive eruptions.

The simulations predict cooling of at least 4 °C in the Northern Hemisphere, with regional cooling as high as 10 °C. In the Southern Hemisphere, cooling is unlikely to exceed 4 °C, although regions in southern Africa and India may have experienced changes in precipitation. The simulations suggest significant regional variation in climate impacts.

Interestingly, the results corroborate independent archaeological evidence suggesting that early humans in certain regions thrived during the Toba eruption interval. This finding challenges the long-held belief that the eruption led to a significant decline in human populations.

For more information, contact Benjamin A. Black at Tel: 617-710-9131 or [redacted], or Jean-François Lamarque at Tel: 303-497-1495 or [redacted].

Michael Petraglia, an author involved in the study, conducted his work at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. The study's findings could be useful for understanding the potential impacts of future volcanic eruptions on global and regional climates.