What is a “famine”?

The story behind the answer

A famine occurs when food supplies collapse across a region, leaving people unable to obtain adequate nutrition for an extended period. It can be triggered by failed harvests, war, trade disruptions, or price shocks, and leads to malnutrition, starvation, and heightened mortality. Unlike drought (shortage of water), epidemics (disease), or rationing (a policy response), it’s defined by the systemic unavailability of food.

In the Middle Ages, the Great Famine of 1315–1317 devastated much of Northern Europe. Unusually cold, incessant rains at the onset of the Little Ice Age ruined crops, livestock diseases spread, and grain prices soared. Millions suffered, social unrest grew, and many people were weakened—conditions that likely worsened the impact of the Black Death a few decades later.