The lower five or six miles of the earth’s atmosphere is the troposphere; this is the region of winds and air currents which provide weather phenomena. [1] Changes in climate have caused changes in civilization:
- From 2500 to 2000 B.C. climatic changes managed to do what the barbarians failed to do: bring about the ruin of Mesopotamia. [2]
- The Saharans saw their prosperous and peaceful civilization dispersed due to the upthrust of land and the shifting water-laden winds. [3]
- The early expansion of the violet race into Europe was cut short by certain rather sudden climatic and geologic changes. Winds from the west shifted to the north, gradually turning the great open pasture regions of Sahara into a barren desert. [4]
- 15,000 years ago, Alpine forests were spreading extensively. These great climatic modifications forced the races of Europe that practiced hunting to become herders. [5]
- By 3000 B.C. increasing aridity was driving Andonites back into Turkestan. [6]
Chief factors causing fluctuations are land elevation, cosmic clouds, and oceans. [7] Climate is a decisive factor in early civilization. [8] The Permian period was characterized by its harsh continental climate. [9]
Jesus in a parable used the idea of discerning the weather: “How is it that you so well know how to discern the face of the heavens but are so utterly unable to discern the signs of the times?”. [10]