This session focuses on the long view of climate variability and change as available from long records, reconstructions, reanalysis efforts and modelling, and we welcome analysis of temperature, precipitation, extreme events, sea ice, and ocean. Contributions are welcome that evaluate changes from historical data on the scale of large regions to the globe, analyse particular unusual climatic events, estimate interdecadal climate variability and climate system properties from long records, attribute causes to early observed changes and model or data assimilate this period. We anticipate that bringing observational, modelling and analysis results together will improve understanding and prediction of the interplay of climate variability and change.