The sun is 'in the clear on global warming'

Last updated at 00:19 11 July 2007


Global warming over the past 20 years cannot be explained simply by natural variations in the Sun, according to a study.

Researchers say that, if anything, solar trends should have resulted in the world cooling since the mid 1980s.

Climate change sceptics argue that most scientists underestimate the importance of solar activity in altering global temperatures.

Yet the findings add to the evidence that human behaviour is altering the climate.

Dr Mike Lockwood, of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, is a coauthor of the findings, published in the Proceedings Of The Royal Society 'A' journal.

He said: "Over the past 20 years, all the trends in the Sun have been in the opposite direction to that required to explain the observed recent and rapid rise in global mean temperatures.

"Hence, irrespective of any connections between the Sun and Earth's climate before the dominance of the effects of burning fossil fuels, the Sun is not a factor in recent climate change."

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