Weather: Britain is facing a new Little Ice Age
IF YOU thought this winter was cold, be warned – temperatures are set to plummet in coming years, scientists predict.
Weather patterns linked to the strength of the sun could bring much colder winters.
The last time Britain saw these conditions was from 1645 to 1715 when frost fairs were held on the frozen surface of the Thames in central London.
The period, called the Maunder minimum by scientists, became known as the Little Ice Age. The climate phenomenon, which changes the direction of jet streams to bring bitter north-easterly winds from the Arctic and Russia, is called “blocking”. It causes temperatures to drop by up to one degree celsius.
A report published today in Environmental Research Letters, said: “Solar activity during the current sunspot minimum has fallen to levels unknown since the start of the 20th century.
“Motivated by recent relatively cold winters in the UK, we investigated the possible connection with solar activity. The results presented here indicate that, despite hemispheric warming, the UK and Europe could experience more cold winters than during recent decades.”
Professor Mike Lockwood from the meteorology department at the University of Reading, said there was a 10 per cent chance of Maunder minimum conditions returning within 50 years. But Professor Lockwood, the lead author of the report, said winters would still not be as cold as those in the 17th and 18th centuries because of the effects of global warming.
Last winter was the coldest in 30 years.
