91热爆

From the 14th Century, the historical archives provide a previously unrecorded history of how floods, storms, blizzards and even volcanic eruptions influenced the Scotland鈥檚 climate. Scotland鈥檚 people adapted to changes in climate and weather through the ages, but time and again we find accounts of people struggling to find enough food to survive. 鈥淏itterly cold gales had destroyed the corn before it ripened, great numbers of people died in the open fields鈥�some were so desperate that they threw themselves into the sea鈥︹�� William Thomson, Orkney 1634

The 鈥楲ittle Ice Age鈥� as it became known, culminated in the 1690s and seven years of famine 鈥� known at the time as 鈥淜ing William鈥檚 Dear Years鈥�. The rigors of our present climate are as nothing compared with the harsh, hostile weather experienced during this 鈥淟ittle Ice Age鈥�. Belts of sea-ice appeared along the southeastern coast of England and northern France; many harbours were choked with ice. Caught in a south-bound ice floe, a lone Eskimo was driven into the River Don in Aberdeen around 1700. The man was described as 鈥渁ll-over hairy鈥� and spoke a language no-one could understand. The climate was around two degrees cooler than today and lasted around 500 years; an interval that brought not just snow and ice, but storms to places like Culbin Sands.