Pre-Instrumental Weather Observations in Poland in the 16th and 17th Centuries

Abstract

A few remarkable episodes can be distinguished in the European climate of the last millennium. The first is the Medieval Warm Epoch (MWE). The culmination of the MWE occurred in the 12th and 13th centuries in the period 1150-1300 (Lamb, 1982). This warm period was followed by a colder one which lasted to the second half of the 19th century and is known as the so-called Little Ice Age (LIA). The climate during the LIA was not constantly cold. The recoveries to warmer conditions in the first half of the 15th century and around 1700–1750 are evident (Lamb, 1982). They were followed by reversions to colder conditions. Some authors stress the coincidence of the two greatest periods of cooling with the two prolonged minima of sunspot activity, the Sporer Minimum from 1400 to 1510 and the Maunder Minimum from 1645 to 1715 (Schuurmans,1981; Pfister, 1994b). An increase of volcanic activity is also mentioned as a reason for the LIA. Since the second part of the 19th century the temperature has been rising although some reversions to colder conditions are also present. This warming is a global feature (Jones et al., 1986; Jones, 1994) and can be linked to an anthropogenic increase of CO2 and other greenhouse gas concentrations as well as to solar and volcanic activity variations (Schonwiese, 1984).