Abrupt climate change

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-000146",
  "term": "Abrupt climate change",
  "field": "Environment",
  "term_source": "Abrupt Climate Change",
  "definition": "1. Sudden (on the order of decades), large changes in some major component of the climate system, with rapid, widespread effects.\n\n2. A shift in climate (e.g., temperature or precipitation) that occurs faster than the rate of change in the mechanism causing the change. The shift between glacial and interglacial stages, the shift between warm and cool periods during the last glacial time (Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles), and the Arctic oscillation are all considered abrupt climate changes. The shift in climate can occur over months to thousands of years and can occur in the absence of any known external cause.",
  "subject": "Environmental events",
  "references": [
    "Glossary of Climate Change Terms",
    "NOAA Climate Program Office Glossary"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/abrupt-climate-change/"
}