Before we get to the next story, there is something else to consider regarding Santorini. Can you believe that one of the largest eruptions in the last 10,000 years caused fewer deaths than one so much smaller? That seems odd to me.

On the other hand, it seems really great that people got out of the way of the immediate eruption, but it is also possible that in this case, there were other long-term effects of the Santorini eruption that hurt a lot of people, and maybe even killed them.

Because the Santorini eruption was one of the largest eruptions ever, it is believed to have had a significant long-term impact on the weather. It turns out that all major volcanic eruptions have an effect on the atmosphere and the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth.

When a major eruption of ash and gases blasts out of a volcano, the debris, which is mostly very fine ash, can rise to high levels of the atmosphere. Winds in the upper atmosphere then spread it all around the Earth like a blanket in the sky blocking out a lot of sunlight. It can stay in the air for months or even years, affecting weather and killing crops and plants of all kinds.