Medieval Warm Period

E675173

The Medieval Warm Period was a climatic interval from roughly the 9th to 14th centuries characterized by relatively mild temperatures in parts of the Northern Hemisphere, preceding the cooler conditions of the Little Ice Age.

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf climatic period
paleoclimatic interval
affects Europe NERFINISHED
Greenland NERFINISHED
North America NERFINISHED
North Atlantic region NERFINISHED
Northern Hemisphere climate
alternateName Medieval Climate Anomaly NERFINISHED
Medieval Warm Epoch NERFINISHED
characterizedBy changes in precipitation patterns
regional climatic variability
relatively mild temperatures in many mid-latitude regions
shifts in atmospheric circulation
comparedTo 20th century warming
endTime 14th century
followedBy Little Ice Age NERFINISHED
follows Dark Ages Cold Period NERFINISHED
hasCauseHypothesis North Atlantic Oscillation variability
changes in ocean circulation
changes in solar irradiance
internal variability of the climate system
reduced volcanic activity
hasDuration approximately 400–500 years
hasKeyRegion Central Europe NERFINISHED
North Atlantic sector NERFINISHED
Western Europe NERFINISHED
parts of East Asia
parts of North America
hasRelativeTemperature warmer than preceding centuries in parts of the Northern Hemisphere
warmer than subsequent Little Ice Age in many regions
hasScientificConsensus modern late-20th and early-21st century warming exceeds its global mean temperature
was not globally synchronous or uniformly warm everywhere
hasUncertainty magnitude of warming varies by proxy record
timing varies by region
influenced Norse expansion into North Atlantic islands
Norse settlement in Greenland
agricultural practices in parts of Europe
precededBy generally cooler early medieval conditions
startTime 9th century
studiedUsing glacier advance and retreat records
historical documentary records
ice cores
lake sediments
marine sediments
tree-ring data
succeededBy prolonged cooling of the Little Ice Age
temporalRelation occurs during the High Middle Ages
usedIn climate change public debates

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Little Ice Age follows Medieval Warm Period