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Free keywords:
Earth Observations; In-situ Observations
Abstract:
The year 1540 was unprecedented in centuries. It was
dreadful, bright, and hot. Bright weather and heat...
lasted for 29 weeks, in which rain fell on notmore than
6 days. ... Meadows and forests were yellow from the
heat, and the earth opened large cracks; at several
locations, grapes and vine withered, many forests
burned, fountains and springs dried out completely...
(but) there was an abundance of corn and a lot of
delicious wine.
Translated from German, a contemporary witness describing the contrasting impacts of a megaheat and drought event of 1540 in Europe (1).