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Abrupt Climatic Change — An Introduction

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Abrupt Climatic Change

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIC,volume 216))

Abstract

History is rich in examples of the impact of climatic change on the well-being of human populations, and the various possible connections between climatic variability, food shortages, epidemic diseases, and large-scale migrations have generated much discussion in recent years (Ladurie, 1971; Lamb, 1977, 1982; Schneider, 1976; Rotberg and Rabb, 1981). Famine due to bad harvests resulting from bad weather is a phenomenon as old as agriculture itself. However, with the rapid growth of populations since the industrial revolution, and the evolution of a world food and energy market, famines now affect more people and more nations than ever before. Thus, the vicissitudes of climate have begun to loom large in world affairs.

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Berger, W.H., Labeyrie, L.D. (1987). Abrupt Climatic Change — An Introduction. In: Berger, W.H., Labeyrie, L.D. (eds) Abrupt Climatic Change. NATO ASI Series, vol 216. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3993-6_1

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