The manuscript by Herzschuh et al. presents a novel approach for deriving quantitative summer temperature estimates from Lake sediments. This method has the potential to substantially improve terrestrial temperature reconstructions and thereby advance our understanding of past continental climate change.

This study provides valuable insight into the timing of meltwater events and associated response of AMOC during the last deglaciation. The strength of the work lies in its precisely dated chronology from a northwest Iberian stalagmite, which overcomes the chronological limitations of North Atlantic sediment records. As highlighted by Reviewer 2 “this represents a substantial advance given the impasse in what is possible based on the less precise dates of sediment cores in this interval.” The analysis of multiple proxies within the same stalagmite allows the authors to directly compare the timing of surface ocean freshening relative to regional temperature changes. Their findings reinforce the hypothesis that the AMOC response to freshwater forcing is nonlinear and may involve threshold-like transitions that are dependent on background climate states. This has broader relevance to the ongoing debate surrounding future AMOC stability.

These data are unique to Greenland, particularly from the base of the Camp Century ice core. These data, which show several periods of glaciation and non-glaciation in northwest Greenland prior to the formation of the current ice cap, should be of great interest to the paleo community, from paleoecologists to modelers.

The paper shows that historical records of wine yield and quality from Central Europe (1416–1988) can be combined into a Yield Quality Index (YQI). This index serves as a reliable indicator of climate conditions from May to July. Using long-term tax, tithe, and estate records from the Moselle region in Germany and the Swiss Plateau, the study shows that high YQI values correspond to warm summers, early harvests, and supportive tree-ring evidence. Conversely, low values often reflect cold summers or frost damage. These results confirm that wine production data can significantly improve climate reconstructions and help explain the social and economic impacts of past climate extremes.

Stevenard et al. present the first compilation of SST records covering the period 350 to 300 ka, encompassing Termination IV and the subsequent interglacial (Marine isotope stage, MIS, 9e). They show that surface temperatures rose by ~5.7 °C during Termination IV, comparable to the estimated warming of Terminations I and II. Their results further suggest that globally averaged SST during MIS9e were similar to the pre-industrial. This reflects a highly spatially heterogeneous interglacial optimum, likely influenced by variations in the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.