Little Ice Age Revealed in Tree‐Ring‐Based Precipitation Record From the Northwest Himalaya, India

Abstract

AbstractThe spatial and temporal span of hydrological impact of the “Little Ice Age” (LIA) in the north‐western Himalaya is not well constrained due to data limitation. We evaluated a network of tree‐ring chronologies from moisture‐stressed ecological settings in Jammu and Kashmir to identify the impact of LIA over the western Himalaya. Our study reflects three centennial scale phases; the middle phase (1650s–1850s CE) with stable precipitation and in accordance with other hydrological records clearly demarcates the LIA impact over the Himalaya. However, high‐magnitude droughts recorded in early (1383–1650s CE) and late phases (1850s–2017) underpin that the north‐western Himalaya did not witness any LIA influence before 1650s.