Little Ice Age
The famine occurred in a period known as the Little Ice Age. During the 1690s, climate in Europe was characterised by cold springs and summers. It is generally estimated that temperatures were 1.5 °C lower during the 1690s than the average during the Little Ice Age. This impacted other countries, France suffered the worst famine since the Middle Ages, ice floes formed in the Thames while Lake Constance and Lake Zurich froze completely over.