Surprisingly, the Solar Cycle Affects the Climate

“Establishing a key link between the solar cycle and global climate, research led by scientists at the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., shows that maximum solar activity and its aftermath have impacts on Earth that resemble La Niña and El Niño events in the tropical Pacific Ocean.

The research may pave the way toward predictions of temperature and precipitation patterns at certain times during the approximately 11-year solar cycle. ‘These results are striking in that they point to a scientifically feasible series of events that link the 11-year solar cycle with ENSO, the tropical Pacific phenomenon that so strongly influences climate variability around the world,’ says Jay Fein, program director in NSF’s Division of Atmospheric Sciences. ‘The next step is to confirm or dispute these intriguing model results with observational data analyses and targeted new observations…”

via sciencedaily.com