Little Ice Age

The Little Ice Age was a period of regional cooling centered on the North Atlantic, generally placed between the 16th and 19th centuries though some researchers extend it from about 1300 to 1850. It was not a true ice age of global extent; the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change describes it as a modest cooling of the Northern Hemisphere of less than one degree Celsius, with effects varying by region. Proposed causes include reduced solar radiation, increased volcanic activity, changes in ocean circulation, orbital variation, and population decline from disease and warfare. Its effects included glacier expansion, frozen rivers and harbors, crop failures and famine in Europe, and unexpectedly harsh conditions that hampered early European colonization of North America.