Presentation Information
[O06-03]Can Past Climates Tell Us About the Future? Thinking about Climate Change through Historical Climatology★Invited Papers
*Masumi Zaiki1 (1.Faculty of Global Studies and Sustainability, Seikei University)
Keywords:
Historical Climatology,Climate Change,Past Climates,Climate and Society
In recent years, climate change and extreme weather events have received widespread attention in the media and in school education. While observed temperature trends and future projections are often emphasized, climates of the past tend to be overlooked. When we study history, have we ever stopped to wonder what the weather was actually like in those times?
In Tokyo, for example, society and daily life have changed dramatically from the Edo period to the present, and so have climatic conditions and disaster characteristics. Well-known terms such as the Little Ice Age, global warming, and the urban heat island effect reflect long-term interactions between climate and human society.
Modern instrumental meteorological observations in Japan began in 1875 with the establishment of the Japan Meteorological Agency. How, then, can climates from before the introduction of weather instruments be investigated? Historical climatology addresses this question by reconstructing past climates using a wide range of historical sources, including diaries, official documents, disaster records, and old meteorological tables. These materials provide insights into how people in the past experienced and responded to climate variability.
This lecture discusses how past climates can be reconstructed from historical records and how such knowledge can contribute to understanding present-day climate change from a long-term perspective. It also considers the significance of interdisciplinary approaches that bridge the humanities and the natural sciences, and their relevance to students’ future academic paths.
In Tokyo, for example, society and daily life have changed dramatically from the Edo period to the present, and so have climatic conditions and disaster characteristics. Well-known terms such as the Little Ice Age, global warming, and the urban heat island effect reflect long-term interactions between climate and human society.
Modern instrumental meteorological observations in Japan began in 1875 with the establishment of the Japan Meteorological Agency. How, then, can climates from before the introduction of weather instruments be investigated? Historical climatology addresses this question by reconstructing past climates using a wide range of historical sources, including diaries, official documents, disaster records, and old meteorological tables. These materials provide insights into how people in the past experienced and responded to climate variability.
This lecture discusses how past climates can be reconstructed from historical records and how such knowledge can contribute to understanding present-day climate change from a long-term perspective. It also considers the significance of interdisciplinary approaches that bridge the humanities and the natural sciences, and their relevance to students’ future academic paths.