Coerthas Climate Change

[Jackald]

Hi, so I am a Geographer in real life, and I love to get really invested in game lore.

So my simple question: Why did the climate of Coerthas change so significantly between 1.0 and 2.0? Did Bahamut's magic just magically lower the temperature or is there something else at work? I know Shiva was in the area eventually, but I haven't found many NPCs that discuss this stuff.

Anyone got any ideas?

[Cipher_Zaabiz]

It was not bahamuts magic but the overall destructive force of his attacks that changed the ecosystem there forever, similar to the battle of silver tear Lake that crystallized almost all of mor dhona

[Vulcwen]

I'd say it's all the dust and ash that would get into the air that makes the temperature drop, think a bit of volcanic ash.
In addition to some changes to the shape of the land, it might catch more clouds blocking more sunlight, causing snowfall, which in turn means sunlight is reflected resulting in a positive feedback loop that keeps the climate cold.

[Jackald]

Ah, yes the massive amounts of dust and ash would certainly make a lot of sense. Makes me wonder if this is a temporary thing though; will Coerthas ever be green again? I mean it was effectively like cold barren highlands before from what I gather, a bit like Scotland.

[bass9020]

I think it bothers me more that we didn't have any type of transition zones, we just skip straight into snow. I think they made the Hinterlands the new coerthas 1.0 sadly.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Ah, yes the massive amounts of dust and ash would certainly make a lot of sense. Makes me wonder if this is a temporary thing though; will Coerthas ever be green again?

It's more than just dust and ash. That's real-world geography. But this is a fantasy world, where the flow of aether also has an effect on weather and climate.

Bahamut's rage unleashed and disrupted huge amounts of aether. This was further compounded by the Scions' aborted summoning of (a portion of) the Twelve. In the end, Eorzea ended up with the equivalent of a nuclear winter. Except, in its case, it was an aether winter for the southern nations in general, and for Coerthas in particular.

Other parts of the realm also suffered from climate change in the aftermath of Bahamut's rage. Eastern Thanalan, for example, now appears to be getting a lot more rain than local place names suggest (Camp Drybone, anyone?). Although, I've also read that in Eastern Thanalan's case, it's more a case of progressive desertification, because the region was apparently once as heavily forested as the neighbouring Twelveswood.

I don't recall if something similar was ever explained by an Eorzean NPC, but if you've played FFXII, you'd be familiar with the effects of aether (in FFXII's case, the "Mist") on weather. The in-game lore compendium for FFXII specificially explains how the Mist can cause localised weather/climate anomalies.

I imagine it's much the same for Eorzea.

[Morningstar1337]

I don't recall if something similar was ever explained by an Eorzean NPC, but if you've played FFXII, you'd be familiar with the effects of aether (in FFXII's case, the "Mist") on weather. The in-game lore compendium for FFXII specificially explains how the Mist can cause localised weather/climate anomalies.

I imagine it's much the same for Eorzea.

Ah yes, and in XII there were also regions called "Jaeg" where the Mist/Aether was troublesome enough to prevent travel by air (among other things, mostly in tactics), I; imagin the Howling Eye, The Aery and Azys Lla to be similar given the need of specialized aircraft to access all three

[Belhi]

I would put this down to Aether too. Apart from the disruption Bahamut breaking free and the pieces of Dalamud raining down on the land caused, even prior to that the proximity of Dalamud was pulling Aether out of the land. If something caused a shift to large concentrations of Ice Aether in Coerthas, it would lead to the temperature change. Its the same logic on why we have floating islands. If a particular type of Aether is particularly strong in an area it can have rather drastic effects of the surroundings.

[LineageRazor]

You might want to check out this old thread for more on the topic of Coerthas' climate change.

My personal theory was that Dalamud itself was using some of its power to keep Coerthas warm for some Allagan reason lost to time. When the moon fell apart, Coerthas reverted to its natural, icy state.

[Morningstar1337]

You might want to check out this old thread for more on the topic of Coerthas' climate change.

My personal theory was that Dalamud itself was using some of its power to keep Coerthas warm for some Allagan reason lost to time. When the moon fell apart, Coerthas reverted to its natural, icy state.

Well it is nearby Dravania, a nation of dragons led by Bahamut's Siblings, as well as Azys Lla an the CT. Maybe they thought that keeping Dravania happy would help placate concerned masses, or maybe all the experiments they did made cold weather unviable for eith the populace or the experiments themselves