The sun has been without spots for 7 straight days in this new year, a sign that Solar Minimum conditions are in effect, according to Spaceweather.com.
On the 27th of June 2018, NASA announced a new Solar Minimum is coming, every 11 years sunspots fade away, this event is called a Solar Minimum and this is happening now with 2019, 2020, expected to be the quietest period.
Some experts believe sunspot activity is as low as the mid-1600s when low sunspot activity is thought to have caused a mini ice age, temperatures around the world would suggest that is not going to happen this time, however.
A large effect on the Earth's atmosphere.
From the mid 1600's to early 1700's, a period of very low sunspot activity (known as the Maunder Minimum) coincided with a number of long winters and severe cold temperatures in Western Europe, called the Little Ice Age.
It is not known whether the two phenomena are linked or if it was just a coincidence.
However, we can look at a few statistics available to us which should give us a clue as to what kind of weather we can expect.
The last Solar Minimum peaked in 2009 with a total of 260 days (71%) without sunspots on our sun and 2008 with a total of 268 days (73%) without sunspots on our sun and 2007 with a total of 152 days (42%) without sunspots on our sun.
2009 was declared as the 8th warmest year on record with 2007 being the 10th warmest on record.
Last year, 2018 had a total of 221 days (61%) without sunspots on our sun and 2018 will be declared the 4th warmest year on record.
U.S. government sites, NASA and NOAA are shut down at the moment due to the lapse of Congressional appropriations but when they do reopen, 2018 will be declared the 4th warmest year on record.
So, three of the four most recent sunspotless years have been in the top ten warmest years ever recorded.
Spaceweather
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