Unusually narrow or entirely missing tree rings formed in 1601 in trees close to Khövsgöl Nuur lake, and tree ring records show decreased temperatures in Taiwan. Severe droughts recorded over the Tibetan Plateau in 1602 may have been caused by the Huaynaputina eruption. The eruption would have decreased the atmospheric water content and thus the strength of the monsoonal moisture transport towards the plateau. Likewise, droughts recorded in cave deposits of southern Thailand have been related to the Huaynaputina eruption and may reflect a typical response of tropical rainfall to volcanic events.