Updated Climate Change via Social Media: The year Madras froze!! Did you know that 200 years ago, it almost snowed in Madras (Chennai)? The city saw temperatures drop to an unusual 11°C on April 24, 1815 and even more shockingly, to -3°C four days later on April 28! From 1815-1816, weather patterns across the globe were thrown out of step due to the biggest recorded volcanic eruption in history, when Mount Tambora, jutting out of the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia, thundered. Tambora’s eruption was one of the most powerful in history, spewing 55 million tons of sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere. This created vast aerosol clouds that circled the Earth, blocking sunlight and causing global temperatures to drop. Madras, due to its proximity to Indonesia, was among the earliest to feel these effects, with reports of freezing temperatures and possible snowfall in places! The coastline of Madras was awash with volcanic rock for years after. This was the one reminder of the devastati...