Little Ice Age
Dating

There is no consensus on when the Little Ice Age began, but a series of events before the known climatic minima have often been referenced. In the 13th century, pack ice began advancing southwards in the North Atlantic, as did glaciers in Greenland. Anecdotal evidence suggests expanding glaciers almost worldwide. Based on radiocarbon dating of roughly 150 samples of dead plant material with roots intact that were collected from beneath ice caps on Baffin Island and Iceland, Miller et al. (2012) state that cold summers and ice growth began abruptly between 1275 and 1300, followed by "a substantial intensification" from 1430 to 1455.

In contrast, a climate reconstruction based on glacial length shows no great variation from 1600 to 1850 but a strong retreat thereafter.

Therefore, any of several dates ranging over 400 years may indicate the beginning of the Little Ice Age:

The Little Ice Age ended in the latter half of the 19th century or in the early 20th century.

The 6th report of the IPCC describes the coldest period in the last millennium as:

"...a multi-centennial period of relatively low temperature beginning around the 15th century, with GMST averaging –0.03 °C between 1450 and 1850 relative to 1850–1900."
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