The drought and locust plague of 942–944 AD in the Yellow River Basin, China

Drought and locust plague are disasters that have brought destruction to the Yellow River Basin. Here, we use Chinese historical sources to study a severe prolonged drought and locust plague in the middle of the 10th century. From 942 to 944 AD, an exceptionally severe drought and accompanying locust plague swept through the Yellow River Basin of China. The drought and locust plague began and developed into a great disaster in 942 AD, and worsened in 943 AD, then ended in 944 AD. The drought and locust plague resulted in a great famine, and approximately one tenth of the total population of the Yellow River Basin starved to death. The Later Jin Dynasty (936–947 AD), a state in the region, thus fell into a national crisis.We suggest the prolonged Eldgjá eruption in Iceland as a possible cause of the drought. The eruption began circa 934 AD, and lasted for three to eight years. It was one of the largest volcanic eruptions in the world during the past 2000 years. The whole process of the drought and locust plague was: 1) the Eldgjá eruption resulted in abrupt cooling and drought; 2) drought and a locust plague resulted in great famine; 3) the famine resulted in massive deaths and a national crisis.