The Sixteenth Century Terselvanian notes reveal climate chaos

Meteorology was never accurate as it is today – but how can scientists learn about previous weather events? In addition to environmental evidence such as ice cores and sediments, historical records provide unique visions in the forgotten climate events and how they are formed for society, as well as new research.

The researchers in Romania analyzed historical records to rebuild weather patterns in the sixteenth century and their effects on society in Transylvania. Texts – known as “Community Archive” – ​​followed by official documents in addition to personal writings such as records and notes. As is detailed in a Ticket Posted today in The border in the climateThe sixteenth century documents draw a bleak picture of the harsh weather events and their consequences before the beginning of the famous small ice age.

“We have appeared that the climate was characterized by a great change, including long periods of dehydration, heat waves, rain and severe floods,” said Tudor Casiora of the University of Uradia in Romania, who participated in the study. border statement. “The study shows the complex interaction between heat waves, droughts, floods, and their successive effects on agriculture, public health, and community stability, with a focus on the important role of the climate in forming human history.”

Historical sources indicate that the first half of the sixteenth century was extraordinary and unusually dry in Tranceelvania.

“One of the convincing corridors comes from a historical document describing the summer of 1540,” Casiora explained. “The springs dry, the rivers diminished just because of the gifts. The document was quoted as saying that the livestock fell in the fields, and the air was thick with despair while people gathered in processions, praying for the rain,” and quoted the document. “This living account emphasizes the emotional and spiritual dimensions of living through climate extremism.”

In comparison, frequent precipitation in the second half of the century led to many floods, especially in the 1990s. The researchers pointed out that these intensive weather fluctuations were repeatedly followed, either directly or indirectly, by disasters, including 30 years of plague, 23 years of starvation, and nine years of locust invasions.

“The cities may have adopted a flood -resistant infrastructure or deportation to more convenient areas,” Cassiura said, with a focus on how extremist climate events affect Treatilphic societies. “The challenges may also have prompted technological innovations, such as improved irrigation systems or storage facilities.”

In general, documents on hot weather have seen more frequently than cold weather throughout the sixteenth century. This was despite the reputation “Little ice age“A global cooling period that intensified about 1560 and caused a decrease in the average annual temperatures in the northern hemisphere by 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit (0.6 ° C).

“This makes us believe that the small ice age could have been manifested later in this part of Europe,” he added. His team’s hypothesis is strengthened by later cooling period with subsequent certificates of low temperatures.

However, the researchers noted some restrictions on their approach. For example, due to the lack of records and conflicting certificates at times, they were unable to rebuild meteorological patterns for 15 years of the studied century. They also highlighted that the historical texts that represent the population of Transilvania reading and writing in the sixteenth century, which were a minority. Moreover, direct reports are witnessed only on local experiences and can be subjective for the author.

However, “studying climate records from the archive of the association is very important as the analysis of natural agents,” Casiora concluded. In meteorology, natural agents are elements that can be used to rebuild previous weather phenomena when there are no direct measurements. “It provides a human perspective focusing on previous climatic events.”

The study of how past climatic events that affected the history of humanity can also provide an insight into how future weather phenomena formation of future societies.