Drought, water shortages and crop failures: how does the medieval warm period compare with today?

A four-month heatwave, dried-up water supplies, and failed harvests — but this is thirteenth-century England, not the present day. The Conversation UK looks back at what's often called the medieval warm period, when higher solar output and a lull in volcanic eruptions pushed temperatures across much of the northern hemisphere well above modern norms. Medieval chroniclers recorded four months of relentless drought in twelve fifty-two, with grass turning to dust and cattle wasting away, while the warmth also fueled disease and even let Norse settlers reach Iceland and Greenland. The key distinction, the piece argues, is that this was a largely regional, natural episode — today's warming is faster, worldwide, and driven mainly by human greenhouse gas emissions. The historical warning it draws is that heat can bring back old risks, from spreading disease to wildfire, though modern communities have tools medieval ones lacked.

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