| | NOAA Paleoclimatology Program - What's New for 2003 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-08) |
 | | From the beginning of the Christian era, climate became cooler at a rate of 0.17°C per century, and around the AD 490s temperature reached about 1°C lower than that of the present (the 1951- 80 mean). |
 | | Then, abruptly, temperature entered a warm epoch from the AD 570s to 1310s with a warming trend of 0.04°C per century; the peak warming was about 0.3-0.6°C higher than present for 30-year periods, but over 0.9°C warmer on a 10-year basis. |
 | | After the AD 1310s, temperature decreased rapidly at a rate of 0.10°C per century; the mean temperatures of the four cold troughs were 0.6-0.9°C lower than the present, with the coldest value 1.1°C lower. |
| www.ncdc.noaa.gov /paleo/news/new2003.html (2907 words) |