Laki

Laki is a volcanic fissure, properly called Lakagigar, that splits the mountain of the same name in Iceland's Vatnajokull National Park, lying between the Myrdalsjokull and Vatnajokull glaciers. Beginning on June 8, 1783, the fissure erupted for eight months, expelling about 14 cubic kilometers of basalt lava along with an estimated 120 million tonnes of sulfur dioxide, producing a toxic haze that Icelanders called Moduhardindin, the mist hardships. The resulting famine and fluorine poisoning killed at least a fifth of Iceland's population and roughly 80 percent of its sheep and half its cattle, while the haze drifted across Europe within weeks, killing thousands more, weakened seasonal monsoons enough to contribute to famine in Egypt and India, and was followed by an unusually severe winter in North America. Laki has not erupted since 1784 and is currently dormant.