ON THE CLIMATIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES IN THE PEARL RIVER DELTA DURING THE LAST 500 YEARS
珠江三角洲五百年来的气候与环境变化

Based on the historical data about the frosty weather occurring in the Pearl RiverDelta during the last 500 years, it has been found out that there were 12 frostyevents from 1488 to 1634 in the Ming Dynasty while 31 times from 1654 to 1893 inthe Qing Dynasty, from which the authors recognize that the Little Ice Age began in1488 and ended in 1893 in the Pearl River Delta, which is approximately the same asthose appeared along the coastal areas in South China.The Little Ice Age in the Pearl River Delta can be divided into 3 cold periodsand 2 warm periods, i. e. the first cold period (1569-1618),the second cold period(1634-1685), and the third cold period (1720-1893) while tWo warm periodsintercalated in the cold ones.The result mentioned above is basically coincident with the data about coldperiods provided by Mr. Lin Yinghe and Mr. Guo Yingqiong (Geoscience College,Zhongshan University) based on the temperature curve in winter from the data (1884-1983) in Hong Kong.The Little Ice Age appeared in the high altitued areas in China and in the worldalso occurred in the pearl River Delta,which located around the Tropic of Cancer. Theauthors think that the present warm period following the Little Ice Age, which lastedfor as long as 4 centuries, will persist for several centuries and the weather willbecome warmer continuously even the methods to control the greenhouse effect aretaken.