Designation for a relatively long-lasting climatic phenomenon from 1450 to 1850, which occurred worldwide with regional and temporal emphases in Europe, North America, Russia and China. Prior to this, there had been a pronounced temperature peak in the period from 900 to 1350, mainly in Europe, which was called the Medieval Warm Period. At that time, the wine growing border lay much further north on the southern Baltic Sea coast. From 1450 the climate began to deteriorate again. Particularly cold periods extended from 1570 to 1630 and from 1675 to 1715, which were associated with a worldwide expansion of the glaciers. Around 1700, the greatest expansion of ice occurred, after which the glaciers slowly retreated again. This retreat is still continuing, many glaciers in the Alps have already completely melted.
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