Quiet sun link to more cold winters

The researchers suggest that a link between a lack of sun activity and the Atlantic jet stream could be creating colder weather in Northern Europe during the winter, despite global trends of rising temperatures.

The scientists compared the Central England Temperature dataset, which records average temperatures across the middle of England dating back 350 years, with the long-term behaviour of the sun's magnetic field.

The research, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, found that there were more cold winters in the UK when solar activity was low.

Lead author Mike Lockwood of the University of Reading said: "This year's winter in the UK has been the 14th coldest in the last 160 years and yet the global average temperature for the same period has been the fifth highest.

"We have discovered that this kind of anomaly is significantly more common when solar activity is low."

The anomaly could be related to a phenomenon known as "blocking", in which the jet stream, which brings in winds from the west, loses its way for weeks at a time.

The researchers found a strong correlation between weak solar activity and the occurrences of "blocking".