Global Cooling in the Immediate Future?

Abstract

New perspectives regarding the possible cooling of the Earth's climate as a result of solar changes are reviewed in this paper. The major findings include: (1) solar activity is weakening to its very low level, which is comparable with the level in the early 20th century; (2) the current grand solar maximum has already lasted for eight 11-year solar cycles and might end in the coming one/two 11-year cycles; (3) a grand solar minimum might prevail in the next 100-200 years; and (4) the number of sunspots in the coming solar maximum (M)-year, around 2013, is an important indicator that needs to be closely monitored. © 2010 Science China Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.