It was a little humid two days ago and for the past three days very warm. It is now in the lower 60's and cooler but this is crazy since it is usually way cooler by now.

The last Ice Age remnants was about 7,500 yrs ago and the ice was back up in Canada. There was something of a small ice age during the 1800's when the climate was cooler around the globe than it is today. But it wasn't a proper ice age with glacial sheets.

I found this artical which I will paste below. It is kind of funny because I am doing a lecture next week that starts with the Ice Age and goes up through the Archaic Period and happened across this. I also saw a documentary about it.

Here is the article:


For about five hundred years, from 1250 to 1850, most parts of the world experienced colder and harsher climates than usual. This time is called the Little Ice Age. During the Little Ice Age, average global temperatures were 1-1.5 degree Celsius (2-3 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler than they are today. The cooler temperatures were caused by a combination of less solar activity and large volcanic eruptions. Cooling caused glaciers to advance and stunted tree growth. Livestock died, harvests failed, and humans suffered from famine and disease.

The Little Ice Age was not a true ice age because it did not get cold enough for long enough to cause ice sheets to grow larger. The cooling likely affected areas around the world but we have the most records of how it changed daily life from Europe. Some of the records and events that occurred during the Little Ice Age are listed below.

Fur trappers reported that southern Hudson Bay remained frozen for about 3 weeks longer each spring.
Fishermen reported large amounts of sea ice floating in the North Atlantic.
British people saw Eskimos paddling canoes off the coast of England.
Alpine (mountain) glaciers grew larger. In some cases, the ice engulfed mountain villages.

Winters were longer and growing seasons shorter according to tree ring data and records of cherry tree flowering.
Wet weather caused disease that affected people, animals and crops including the bubonic plague (also called the Black Death). This disease killed more than a third of Europeans.

Farms and villages in Northern Europe were deserted because the farmers couldn’t grow crops in the cooler climate. During the harshest winters, bread had to be made from the bark of trees because grains would no longer grow.
Limited crops and unhealthy livestock caused famine in areas of northern and Eastern Europe. Unlike today, there was no way to transport food around the world to areas where crops had failed and people were hungry.


I found the part about the Eskimos near England to be entertaining.