2 ms·

The Meadows of Medieval Summer

13 points by lermontov 4mo ago

qalmakka 4mo ago
OT: It's sad that future generations will probably be robbed from the joy of being able to stroll around fields and nature during the summer, at least in Europe. The climate is so hot already that you basically need to live the whole summer like a bat lives every day - shut yourself inside during the day, go out at night. I already have a list of once cherished summer hobbies that are now borderline between being unwise and foolish nowadays, and it was all in the span of 20 years
- graemep 4mo ago
  Europe used to be hot during the medieval warm period. The biggest climate change risk to Europe is actually that it will get colder if Atlantic currents change. Some 1980s models predicted the UK would have been badly affected by now with a climate similar to Canada or Siberia. > The climate is so hot already that you basically need to live the whole summer like a bat lives every day I have not stopped going out during the day although I avoid it if possible during a heatwave - but those only last a few days at most and maybe once of twice an year, not "the whole summer". I have strolled around in much hotter tropical climates.
  - qalmakka 4mo ago
    While some parts of Europe got slightly warmer during the Middle Ages, only to then cool down significantly during the little ice age. Anyway all of those changes were slow, over the course of centuries, and not like now a quick, aggressive increase in length and intensity that's certainly due to the highly foreseeable results of freeing millions of years worth of stored carbon in the atmosphere in just a few decades Also most models indicate that the AMOC collapsing would mostly make winters way more rigid, and only have a small impact on summers. I don't know where you're from but where I live we've been having weather that's >30C for almost a month now. The other day we had 30C at 23:00. The sea is a pot of stock, the water is 30C and the glaciers on the Alps are literally flowing off the mountains. This is serious and I highly doubt that this will improve unless we build massive CCS (which we shouldn't). We had a great summer weather and we basically traded it for a tropical one
    - graemep 4mo ago
      Significantly warmer in mediaeval times, not slightly. At least some of those glaciers were not there during the Roman warm period,right? Speed of warming is not relevant to a claim about conditions now. I do not know where you are either but I cannot see anywhere in Europe where 30+ temperatures are forecast beyond the next few days: https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/map https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/map People do not live like bats in tropical climates. They do stroll around.
- vardalab 4mo ago
  Making hay was not an easy task. A lot of work and stress as well.
Sharlin 4mo ago
Trivia: Finnish is one of the European languages with retained, original (rather than Latin-borrowed) names for months. July is heinäkuu, literally "hay moon" or "hay month", which demonstrates the prevalence and importance of haymaking work in the high summer in an agrarian society.
- ninalanyon 4mo ago
  Isn't June a little early for haymaking in Finland?
  - Sharlin 4mo ago
    July was what I (and the article) talked about.
    - ninalanyon 4mo ago
      But the name of the month of June was said to mean haymaking in Finnish.
      - Tagbert 4mo ago
        Both the article and the original comment are referencing July, not June.

13 points by lermontov 4mo ago

OT: It's sad that future generations will probably be robbed from the joy of being able to stroll around fields and nature during the summer, at least in Europe. The climate is so hot already that you basically need to live the whole summer like a bat lives every day - shut yourself inside during the day, go out at night. I already have a list of once cherished summer hobbies that are now borderline between being unwise and foolish nowadays, and it was all in the span of 20 years

graemep 4mo ago
Europe used to be hot during the medieval warm period. The biggest climate change risk to Europe is actually that it will get colder if Atlantic currents change. Some 1980s models predicted the UK would have been badly affected by now with a climate similar to Canada or Siberia. > The climate is so hot already that you basically need to live the whole summer like a bat lives every day I have not stopped going out during the day although I avoid it if possible during a heatwave - but those only last a few days at most and maybe once of twice an year, not "the whole summer". I have strolled around in much hotter tropical climates.
- qalmakka 4mo ago
  While some parts of Europe got slightly warmer during the Middle Ages, only to then cool down significantly during the little ice age. Anyway all of those changes were slow, over the course of centuries, and not like now a quick, aggressive increase in length and intensity that's certainly due to the highly foreseeable results of freeing millions of years worth of stored carbon in the atmosphere in just a few decades Also most models indicate that the AMOC collapsing would mostly make winters way more rigid, and only have a small impact on summers. I don't know where you're from but where I live we've been having weather that's >30C for almost a month now. The other day we had 30C at 23:00. The sea is a pot of stock, the water is 30C and the glaciers on the Alps are literally flowing off the mountains. This is serious and I highly doubt that this will improve unless we build massive CCS (which we shouldn't). We had a great summer weather and we basically traded it for a tropical one
  - graemep 4mo ago
    Significantly warmer in mediaeval times, not slightly. At least some of those glaciers were not there during the Roman warm period,right? Speed of warming is not relevant to a claim about conditions now. I do not know where you are either but I cannot see anywhere in Europe where 30+ temperatures are forecast beyond the next few days: https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/map https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/map People do not live like bats in tropical climates. They do stroll around.
vardalab 4mo ago
Making hay was not an easy task. A lot of work and stress as well.

Sharlin 4mo ago

Trivia: Finnish is one of the European languages with retained, original (rather than Latin-borrowed) names for months. July is heinäkuu, literally "hay moon" or "hay month", which demonstrates the prevalence and importance of haymaking work in the high summer in an agrarian society.

ninalanyon 4mo ago
Isn't June a little early for haymaking in Finland?
- Sharlin 4mo ago
  July was what I (and the article) talked about.
  - ninalanyon 4mo ago
    But the name of the month of June was said to mean haymaking in Finnish.
    - Tagbert 4mo ago
      Both the article and the original comment are referencing July, not June.