Articles | Volume 21, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-2061-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-2061-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
07 Nov 2025
Research article |
| 07 Nov 2025
| 07 Nov 2025
Climatic and societal impacts of volcanic eruptions in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BCE–8 CE): a comparative study.
Trinity Centre for Environmental Humanities, Department of History, School of Histories and Humanities, Trinity College Dublin, D02 PN40, Ireland
Institute of History, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Francis Ludlow
Trinity Centre for Environmental Humanities, Department of History, School of Histories and Humanities, Trinity College Dublin, D02 PN40, Ireland
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Short summary
This research examines the climatic and societal impacts of volcanic eruptions in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BCE–8 CE). Statistically, the frequency of relevant climate disasters (e.g., drought, cold) and metrics of societal impacts (e.g., vagrancy) increased following volcanic eruptions. A comparative study of 180–150 BCE and 60–30 BCE reveals that the shortcomings in perceptions of human-nature relationships and the over-reliance on agriculture reduced society's resilience to calamities.
This research examines the climatic and societal impacts of volcanic eruptions in the Western...
