section_path: Global temperature rise/Temperature records prior to global warming
section_name: Temperature records prior to global warming
paragraph_text: Temperature records prior to global warming
  
  Over the last few million years human beings evolved in a climate that cycled through ice ages, with global average temperature ranging between 1 °C warmer and 5–6 °C colder than current levels. One of the hotter periods was the Last Interglacial between 115,000 and 130,000 years ago, when sea levels were 6 to 9 metres higher than today. The most recent glacial maximum 20,000 years ago had sea levels that were about 125 metres (410 ft) lower than today.
  
  Temperatures stabilized in the current interglacial period beginning 11,700 years ago. Historical patterns of warming and cooling, like the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age, did not occur at the same time across different regions. Temperatures may have reached as high as those of the late 20th century in a limited set of regions. Climate information for that period comes from climate proxies, such as trees and ice cores.