Krakatoa
An eruption heard 4,800 kilometres away, and the first global news event.
- When
- Era
- Industrial, Holocene
Krakatoa explodes in August 1883, generating tsunamis that kill over 36,000 people and a sound heard in Australia and Rodrigues Island — the loudest noise in recorded history. Because the telegraph network now existed, the world learned of it within hours rather than months, making it arguably the first global news story. Atmospheric dust produced vivid sunsets worldwide and measurably cooled the planet for several years.