Medieval Warm Period

time of warm climate in the North Atlantic region lasting from c. 950 to c. 1250

The Medieval Warm Period (MWP) or Medieval Climate Optimum was a time of unusually warm climate in the North Atlantic region. It was not a planet-wide phenomena. It lasted from about the tenth century to about the fourteenth century. In discussions of global warming this period is often mentioned.

A graph of temperatures over the past two thousand years. The so-called Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age were regional phenomena, and were not experienced worldwide.

Some refer to the event as the Medieval Climatic Anomaly because this term emphasizes that effects other than temperature were important.[1]

change

References

change
  1. Bradley, Raymond S. Climate System Research Center. "Climate of the Last Millennium." 2003. February 23, 2007. [1]

Further reading

change
  • M.K. Hughes and H.F. Diaz, "Was there a 'Medieval Warm Period?", Climatic Change 26: 109-142, March 1994

Other websites

change