Climate Cycles

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about the “worst floods in 100 years”, and the “coldest northern hemisphere winters in 100 years”. Not more than a few years ago it was the “worst drought in 100 years”, or the “highest temperatures in 100 years”. Now comes news that 2008 marked the longest solar minimum in 100 years. The solar minimum relates to a low period of sunspot activity. Sunspot minimums and maximums usually happen over an 11 year cycle.

Co-incidence? I think not. Without our sun we have no light, no warmth. Without our sun this planet would freeze. The sun creates our climate, it drives our climate from day to night, summer to winter.

On the “up” side, the solar minimum is over for this cycle, and of late there have been increasing numbers of sun spots and solar flares (a great place to visit for up to date info is spaceweather.com). So the recorded drop in temperatures (0.5C in Europe, and our summer was cooler too) might soon reverse, till the next cycle. Meanwhile we’ve had the wettest February for a *very* long time – over 235mm recorded at our weather station, with both December 2010 and January 2011 recording over 100mm in each month.

 

11th February 2011, it rains, again.
11th February 2011, it rains, again.

Climate changes, it’s a natural cycle. Get over it!