Based on the cooling spiral of recent solar cycles, scientists from University of California, San Diego believe the next “grand-minimum” is just decades away, during which the Sun will be seven per cent cooler. A grand-minimum, according to the study, is a period of very low solar activity, which will lead to lower temperature on earth. During the grand-minimum in the mid-17th century, named Maunder Minimum, the temperature dropped low enough to freeze the Thames River. In spite of the chilling weather in Europe during the Maunder Minimum, other areas such as Alaska and southern Greenland warmed. The finding has been published in the Chicago-based journal Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Source: The Guardian February 12, 2018 09:00 UTC