TEARS OF THE ARCTIC

The “warm medieval period” lasted approximately 500 years, from the beginning of the 800s to the beginning of 1300 when an abrupt reduction of terrestrial temperature took place in the northern emisphere. This periodic swing of glaciations and meltdowns divides scientists. Initially, it was thought that the “Small Glacial Era” was a global phenomenon but it has currently become more dubious. For example, the reconstruction of average temperatures of the northern emisphere in the past 1000 years does not appear to show a pronounced drop in temperature. From the data gathered, it appears that in this period the average temperatures have only dropped by about 1 °C. The debate on the entity of such drop in temperature, as well as the previous medieval warming, still remains open and not concluded. The point is that the warming phase is currently under way and if no change takes place, several glaciers will shortly disappear.