Which of the following periods has generally been considered to be the ’Little Ice Age’?

The correct answer is C (1650 AD-1870 AD). The Little Ice Age was a cooler phase in the Northern Hemisphere that followed the Medieval Warm Period. Alpine glaciers advanced, the Thames froze over for frost fairs, and crop failures and famines became common in Europe. Its exact dates vary by source, but the mid-17th to late-19th century window is the one most often cited, and this option fits it.

• A (750-850 AD): This falls in the early medieval period. It is not identified as a distinct cold phase.
• B (950-1250 AD): This is the Medieval Warm Period, the opposite of the Little Ice Age. Aspirants often swap the two.
• D (8000-10,000 years B.P.): This is the early Holocene, the post-glacial warming that followed the last Ice Age. It has nothing to do with the Little Ice Age.

The concept links to Geography (climate change and paleoclimate, Holocene) and to Mains GS-I on climate variability and its impact on agriculture and societies. Solar activity (the Maunder Minimum), volcanic eruptions and ocean circulation are the usual explanations, and this context helps when you compare past natural cooling with today's human-driven warming.

Trap: Learning the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age as one vague 'climate' topic. Keep their dates separate, since the question tests the date range.