3. Of course there are historical sources other than the official records. Weather diaries and records have been kept by amateur meteorologists, and books, paintings and engravings can also give a flavour of past climates, such as those depicting fun, fairs and frivolity on the river Thames.
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7. Then there’s dendrochronology, the study of annual growth rings of trees; the word itself combines two Greek words, ‘dendron’ for trees and ‘chronos’ for time.