Medieval Warm Period

The Medieval Warm Period was a time of warm climate in the North Atlantic region lasting from about 950 to 1250 CE, though research shows peak warmth occurred at different times in different regions rather than as a single globally uniform event. Parts of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly western Europe, Iceland and Greenland, reached notably elevated temperatures during this era, warmth that enabled Norse exploration and colonization of Greenland and brief settlement in North America around the year 1000. Proposed causes include increased solar activity, decreased volcanic activity and changes in ocean circulation, though modeling suggests natural variability alone cannot explain it and some external forcing must have contributed. Because warming and its effects varied so much by region, some researchers prefer the term Medieval Climate Anomaly.