According to a recent study by scientists, the world could plunge into a 'mini ice age' in just little over a decade. As per the mathematical model of the Sun’s magnetic energy, temperatures will start dropping in 2021 which will lead to a phenomenon called ‘Maunder minimum’. Something similar to this even hit the earth sometime between 1646 and 1715 causing a mini ice age, even causing London’s River Thames to freeze over.
The study states that the sun’s solar cycle is producing accurate predictions of irregularities within the sun’s 11-year heartbeat and draws on dynamo effects in two layers of the sun, one close to the surface and one deep within its convection zone. Researchers who have been led by maths professor Valentina Zharkova at Northumbria University built upon previous research that predicts magnetic waves produced by the sun. However, Zharkova has been warned that her model cannot be used as proof of a mini ice age - in part because of global warming. Speaking to a news channel, she said, “I hope global warming will be overridden by this effect, giving humankind and the Earth 30 years to sort out our pollution." However, every cycle is a little different and none of the models of causes to date has fully explained fluctuations aptly.
According to Dr Zharkova, in cycle 26, the two waves will exactly mirror each other, peaking at the same time but in opposite hemispheres of the Sun. They will nearly cancel each other and this, they believe, will lead to a ‘Maunder minimum’.
