The sun might hold answer to global warming

Moscow: Forget global warming — the earth may soon be plunged into a 250-year cooling period, scientists have claimed.

Russian climate experts believe that every 200 years the sun’s activity temporarily wanes and it emits less heat.

They believe this ‘cooling period’ could cause the earth’s average temperature fall by several degrees.

The last time this occurred was between 1650 and 1850 — a period known as the ‘Little ice age’.

At the time, most of Britain’s rivers would freeze over during the bitter winters.

Contemporary paintings show people could even cross the Thames using ice skates.

The next ‘cooling period’ is scheduled to start between 2030 and 2040.

But scientists from Pulkovo Observatory in St Petersburg think the cold period is unlikely to be as harsh as the last one. Researcher Yuri Nagovitsyn said: “Evidently, solar activity is on the decrease. In this respect, we could be in for a cooling period that lasts 200 to 250 years. The period of low solar activity could start between 2030 and 2040 but it won’t be as pervasive as in the late 17th century.”

Vladimir Kotlyakov, from the Russian Academy of Sciences, supported the concept. “There are no grounds to claim that global warming will continue till the end of this century. Climate moves in natural cycles of warmer and colder, as well as drier and more humid times,” he said.

“Early signs of cooling are already there and the trend may pick up in coming years. Human activity and industrial discharges do have a great impact on the environment, but forces of nature are far more powerful.”