The Great Frost of 1709 – few parallels

 
Apocalyptic comparisons have been made by the UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the event of the lockdown continuing into the summer. The worst economic hit for 300 years, he cheerily intoned, since of 1709. That was the year of the ‘Great Frost’, the worst winter in 500 years, which lasted for three months, sparked food shortages, caused thousands of deaths especially in France, and a huge deficit to the economy. In London on the night of 5 January 1709 a temperature of minus 12