Euro-Climhist – Ways to Weather Hindcasting

Objectives of Historical Climatology

Historical climatology analyses written and pictorial documents on the history of weather and climate using climatological and (environmental) historical methods. Its aim is to:

  1. document the course of weather and climate before the emergence of meteorological measurement networks in the late 19th century (reconstruction of weather and climate);
  2. analyse the vulnerability of the economy and society to weather extremes and weather-related disasters (historical climate impact research);
  3. understand social perceptions of weather and climate phenomena (history of knowledge of weather and climate). The first history of meteorological observations in Switzerland in the 18th and 19th centuries was published in 1909 by Julius Maurer, Rudolf Billwiler and Clemens Hess.
Auftritt von vier Generationen von Historischen Klimatologen
Appearance of four generations of historical climatologists at the 7th Conference of the European Society for Environmental History (ESEH) in Munich 2013: (from left to right) Rudolf Brázdil, Brno (*1951), Christian Pfister, Bern (*1944), at the lectern Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, Paris (1929-2023), Franz Mauelshagen, Bielefeld (*1967). Source: Eveline Zbinden, Bern.

The original male dominance in historical climate research is now increasingly breaking down. As part of the 12th ESEH Conference 2023 in Bern, a roundtable session was held on "Locating Women in Climate Histories: Past, Present, and Praxis", bringing together both established and young female climate researchers.