Partially accurate. It is not unanimous, but a cross between science and history make it certainly likely a bad year, and many call it the “worst year” in hindsight.
1. The “dark fog” is thought to be- based on evidence from historical records and ice samples- a series of massive volcanic eruptions known to have covered Europe, Parts of Asia, and Africa in said fog- much the same but more extreme version of what many have seen in the skies from recent large fires in various parts of the world. But not the “whole world” or even the whole known world at the time- and many civilizations with poorly documented or studied histories; and those who aren’t usually focal points of history at large- didn’t have such issues.
2. It is believed based on scientific evidence and historical record this fog lasted 18 months, slightly over a year. Not 2 years.
3. As to previous comments on the nature of the “fog” as high altitude debris in the atmosphere- it wasn’t so much a “fog” as a “haze” or “overcast” most likely- although there would likely be some ground level “fogginess” in retain places at certain times.
4. The “dark ages” wasn’t a decade, nor was it overall particularly dark. I’ve discussed this before but in short- most serious historians do not use the term in any serious capacity or to mean the ages were in any way “dark” beyond perhaps the fall of Rome.
5. It is believed to be the coolest period in 2000 odd years for much of Europe and certain other areas. Not globally, and the data is not concrete but suggests it. It’s also important to note that similar events to the cooling and “fog” from volcanic eruption are recorded in history- and evidence suggests this was “coldest*” but not like it was a great deal colder than other such events. Exact temperature is... debated.
6. The death toll of the bubonic plague at the time- “the plague of Justinian,” is ESTIMATED to be between 25-100 million. Exact numbers are obviously unknown, and that is a huge range- but is not “100 million.”
7. As discussed- there were several eruptions, not a singular Icelandic volcano- and we can’t really say that volcano “sparked the period” as that implies cause and effect. While that eruption did cause “fog” and lower temperatures, the record achieved was most likely in part due to multiple close together volcanic eruptions (several being believed to have been in North America) and there is no direct link between the eruption and the plague outbreak. We could say we “begin” the period with the eruption- but that is arbitrary as a period of history as a grouping of years starts whenever we say it does.
As Smitty points out- 2020 isn’t over yet, and the historic place of 536AD as “worst year” relies upon events which carried over into future years- in some cases future centuries. On their own the events of that year aren’t necessarily particularly bad- but the long term ramifications, including the fact it is believed by many that these events helped hasten the fall of the Roman Empire- are what include it. Somewhat like getting a flat tire doesn’t make it the “worst moment of your life,” but if that flat tire leads to you being fired a week later and a chain of events that sees you destitute and broken- you would attribute those later events to the flat tire. 2020 and the after effects may not be completely known for decades or centuries.
2020 may actually end up being considered a “good” year in history depending upon social and other change that might come from it- perhaps long term this sets us on a path of “work from home” and reinforces communities, maybe breaks up monopolies and seeds smaller business, leads to political and social reform- and long term historians may see this as the beginning of how their ancestors transformed from a society pushing the earth to being unlivable for humans, to saving it for the future. Or.... long term this year could be remembered in the way historians remember the fall of Rome or less dramatically the early start of the dust bowl and Great Depression. We must stay tuned and find out.
You know, there were also these things called the World Wars. Going out on a limb and saying any one of those years was probably worse than 2020 as well.
1. The “dark fog” is thought to be- based on evidence from historical records and ice samples- a series of massive volcanic eruptions known to have covered Europe, Parts of Asia, and Africa in said fog- much the same but more extreme version of what many have seen in the skies from recent large fires in various parts of the world. But not the “whole world” or even the whole known world at the time- and many civilizations with poorly documented or studied histories; and those who aren’t usually focal points of history at large- didn’t have such issues.
3. As to previous comments on the nature of the “fog” as high altitude debris in the atmosphere- it wasn’t so much a “fog” as a “haze” or “overcast” most likely- although there would likely be some ground level “fogginess” in retain places at certain times.
4. The “dark ages” wasn’t a decade, nor was it overall particularly dark. I’ve discussed this before but in short- most serious historians do not use the term in any serious capacity or to mean the ages were in any way “dark” beyond perhaps the fall of Rome.
7. As discussed- there were several eruptions, not a singular Icelandic volcano- and we can’t really say that volcano “sparked the period” as that implies cause and effect. While that eruption did cause “fog” and lower temperatures, the record achieved was most likely in part due to multiple close together volcanic eruptions (several being believed to have been in North America) and there is no direct link between the eruption and the plague outbreak. We could say we “begin” the period with the eruption- but that is arbitrary as a period of history as a grouping of years starts whenever we say it does.