Global Temperatures Over the Last 6,000 Years
Summary of Trends:
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Regional Variations
Over the past 6,000 years, Earth's climate transitioned from a relatively warm period (Holocene Thermal Maximum) to a gradual cooling phase, which was abruptly reversed by recent human-induced warming. Today’s global temperatures are unprecedented in at least the last six millennia.
Citations:
Summary of Trends:
- Around 6,500 years ago, the Earth reached a global thermal maximum, with average temperatures approximately 0.6–0.7°C warmer than the 19th-century preindustrial baseline 5 3 4.
- After this peak, a long-term and gradual cooling trend set in, with global mean surface temperature (GMST) declining by about 0.08–0.1°C per 1,000 years until the onset of the industrial era 5 1 4.
- In the last 150 years, rapid anthropogenic warming has reversed this natural cooling, and current global temperatures now exceed those of the mid-Holocene maximum 3 4 5.
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| Period (years BP) | Global Mean Temperature Relative to 19th Century | Notable Events/Features |
| 6,500–6,000 | +0.6 to +0.7°C | Holocene Thermal Maximum; peak warmth 5 3 4 |
| 6,000–2,000 | Gradual cooling, ~–0.08°C/1,000 years | Cooling trend, minor regional fluctuations 5 |
| 2,000–200 | Continued slow cooling | Culminates in "Little Ice Age" 5 4 |
| Last 150 years | Rapid warming, now >+1°C above 19th century | Anthropogenic global warming 3 4 5 |
Regional Variations
- Arctic: During the Holocene Climate Optimum (~9,500–5,500 years BP), Arctic temperatures were on average 1.6±0.8°C higher than today, with some areas (e.g., Arctic Alaska) up to 2–3°C warmer 1.
- Europe: Northwestern Europe warmed, while Southern Europe experienced some cooling during the same period 1.
- Other Regions: Local temperature histories varied due to regional climate drivers and feedbacks 1 2.
- The peak warmth of the Holocene occurred around 6,500 years ago, followed by a slow, natural cooling trend driven largely by orbital changes (Milankovitch cycles) and feedbacks such as ice–albedo effects 1 5 4.
- The cooling rate was subtle, only about 0.1°C per millennium, until the recent, rapid anthropogenic warming 5 4.
- The last 150 years of human-driven warming have more than undone 6,000 years of natural cooling, with current global average temperatures now higher than at any point in at least the last 6,000 years 3 4 5.
Over the past 6,000 years, Earth's climate transitioned from a relatively warm period (Holocene Thermal Maximum) to a gradual cooling phase, which was abruptly reversed by recent human-induced warming. Today’s global temperatures are unprecedented in at least the last six millennia.
Citations:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_climatic_optimum
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...77379123003918
- https://scitechdaily.com/major-new-p...rs-of-cooling/
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0630072044.htm
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-020-0530-7
- https://egusphere.copernicus.org/pre...here-2022-184/
- https://www.sciencealert.com/before-...-cooling-phase
- http://su.diva-portal.org/smash/reco...iva2%3A1814077
- https://faculty.ucr.edu/~legneref/bronze/climate.htm
- https://www.climate.gov/news-feature...al-temperature
- https://www.newscientist.com/article...-the-big-deal/
- https://allianceforscience.org/blog/...million-years/
- https://phys.org/news/2022-10-years-...reviously.html
- https://ucarech.uca.ma/open-research...n.php?id=14382
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-020-0445-3
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science...t-100000-years
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:H...Variations.png
- https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/on...-change-mapped
- https://cp.copernicus.org/articles/18/2599/2022/
- https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/202...ature-records/
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