Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 8 hrs ago
The 1877 El Niño helped drive a famine that killed millions
A very strong El Niño in 1877 and 1878 disrupted weather around the world and contributed to years of drought and failed harvests.
Famine struck China, India, Brazil and other places, and disease spread among people displaced by hunger.
Estimates put deaths in India, China and Brazil between 1876 and 1879 at 20 million to 30 million; the global toll may have reached 50 million.
El Niño is part of a climate pattern involving changing Pacific Ocean temperatures and atmospheric pressure across the tropics.
In the 1870s, scientists did not understand this pattern or know what was driving the unusual weather.
Research later connected ocean temperatures to shifts in atmospheric pressure, making it possible to identify El Niño events and predict them in advance.
Better understanding and forecasting can help prepare for the weather disruptions linked to El Niño.
A powerful El Niño in 1877/78 helped trigger drought and failed harvests that contributed to a famine across several regions.
An estimated 20 million to 30 million people died in India, China and Brazil between 1876 and 1879.
The global death toll may have reached 50 million.
The famine brought disease outbreaks and social upheaval as people fled hunger and searched for food and shelter.
Scientists did not understand the El Niño–Southern Oscillation at the time, and the event’s role became clearer through later research.
- Who
- Millions of people died in the famine, particularly in India, China and Brazil.
- What
- A powerful El Niño helped drive drought, failed harvests and famine.
- When
- The El Niño occurred in 1877/78; the famine and deaths spanned 1876 to 1879.
- Where
- China, India and Brazil, with famine and deaths also reported elsewhere around the world.
- Why
- The El Niño disrupted global weather patterns, contributing to drought and failed harvests.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
As a scientific topic, this was the Stone Ages for El Niño. No one in the scientific community knew about this problem. The only ones who probably knew about it were Peruvian fishermen.
From our data reconstruction, we did find the El Niño signature, and it is a very strong El Niño
big bang
truly planetary magnitude
An estimated 20 million to 30 million people died in India, China and Brazil amid drought, failed harvests and famine.
A powerful El Niño disrupted global weather patterns.
Physicist Gilbert Walker identified the Southern Oscillation, a seesaw of atmospheric pressure across the tropics.
Meteorologist Jacob Bjerknes connected changing Pacific sea-surface temperatures to the Southern Oscillation and mapped the global dynamics of El Niño.
- El Niño
- The 1877/78 event was described as very strong.
- Deaths in India, China and Brazil
- Estimated 20 million to 30 million between 1876 and 1879.
- Possible global deaths
- As many as 50 million.
- Reconstruction period
- Sea-surface temperature data were used to build a record stretching back to 1850.
- Southern Oscillation
- Identified by Gilbert Walker in the 1920s.
Sources
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