Page 40 - Alternative Energy Systems in Building Design

THE LITTLE ICE AGE 17

1550 Beginning of worldwide glacial expansion

1650 Global temperatures drop to their lowest levels

It is believed that the little ice age lasted until the mid-nineteenth century.

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE
The following are anecdotal accounts of the effect of the little ice age on the northern
hemisphere:

■ Cold weather was experienced throughout many parts of the world.
■ As a result of severe climatic conditions in the fourteenth century, most springs and
summers were so cold and wet that common farming crops such as cereals could
not yield sufficient sustenance.
■ As a consequence, Europe experienced a severe famine from 1315 to 1317, resulting
in new crops such as rye and barley that were better suited for shortened, less reliable
growing seasons.
■ The Thames River often froze over during the winter, and people skated and even
held parties on the ice.
■ In 1622, waters around the Potomac River froze in the winter.
■ In the sixteenth century, vine growing completely disappeared from some northern
regions of Europe, resulting in a severe reduction in wine production and increased
use of beer as a substitute.
■ In the early sixteenth century, violent storms caused massive flooding and loss of
life. Some of these resulted in permanent losses of large tracts of land from the
Danish, German, and Dutch coasts.
■ In the mid-sixteenth century in southern Europe, warm weather crops, such as
oranges, were abandoned in provinces where they had been grown for centuries.
■ In the mid-seventeenth century, glaciers advanced, gradually engulfing farms and
crushing entire villages.
■ In 1758, General Washington’s army marched across the Potomac River to invade
the British garrison.
■ In the winter of 1794–1795, the French army invaded Holland by marching over the
frozen rivers of the Netherlands.
■ The first Thames frost fair was recorded in 1607, and the tradition lasted through
1814.
■ In the eighteenth century, owing to a lack of harvest, the population of Iceland fell by
half.
■ It has been said that the famous violin maker Stradivari produced his outstanding
instruments during the little ice age, when the colder climate meant the wood used in
his violins had denser growth rings (which are otherwise larger in warmer periods).
■ It also has been speculated that severe mortality rates in Europe, East Asia, and the
Middle East attributed to a decrease in agricultural output and deterioration of
nutrition and immune systems were consequences of the little ice age. Ruddiman,