By Steffan Messenger
Studying the rings inside oak trees has allowed scientists to produce one of the most detailed records yet of how the UK's climate has changed over the last millennium.
It reveals a picture of summer rainfall stretching back more than 800 years. Periods of prolonged extreme weather coincided with historical accounts of famines and droughts.
The researchers said the data presented "huge lessons" about the potential impacts of climate change on society. Core samples were taken from hundreds of oak trees across the UK, in a project led by the University of Oxford and Swansea University.
The trees grow a new ring each year and are particularly sensitive to how wet it has been during the summer months. The widths of the rings were studied, as well as the chemistry of the wood.
