The Ice Age is coming, say scientists (but others say we'll fry...)

Updated


Britain could be heading for another Ice Age according to experts, who have discovered new evidence that the sun could be entering a period of 'hibernation'.

The last time the sun entered a similar period, in the 1700s, Britain entered 'The Little Ice Age'.

This brought bitterly cold winters, and ice extended for miles into the North Sea, and the River Thames also froze over.

The scientists believe that the slowdown in the sun's activity suggests that a similar period could be on its way.

At a conference in the US, a number of astronomers agreed that the sun was showing telltale signs that is going into hibernation.

Some experts even claim that these new findings could mean that global warming caused by greenhouse gases could be less severe over the next few decades than predicted.

However, another team of climate scientists in the US have revealed that Brits - particularly city dwellers - will have to get used to uncomfortable heat over the next few decades.

While Britain's temperatures overall will rise by around 3C by 2100, cities will be much hotter because of trapped heat from buildings. Other countries fare far worse: the analysis shows that countries such as China and the Arctic will experience some of the greatest temperature increases, with North America has a catastrophic increase five times greater over the same period.

The computer model used in the assessment was developed by the US National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, and is among several that will form the basis of the next assessment of global climate change to be published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2014.

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-124445%

Related articles

Just in case you missed it! Spectacular video of the lunar eclipse!

Near miss! Asteroid as strong as 15 atomic bombs wizzes past earth


Hot or cold? Which way is the world going? Do the experts really know? Give us your comments below!

Advertisement