Solar Activity Not a Major Factor Affecting Climate Change, Researchers Say

Variation in heat coming from the sun doesn't affect Earth's climate as dramatically as assumed earlier, a new study reports.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Edinburgh, challenges the idea that variation in solar activity has influenced changes in climate pattern.

Researchers examined climate of the past 1,000 years and found that volcanic eruptions were key drivers of climate change in the past. But, after 1900, greenhouse gases became major players in weather change across the world.

Other researchers have reported that changes in solar activity affects earth's climate in significant and complex ways.

But, not all scientists buy this theory. Some time back, two British researchers also said that changes in solar activity, cosmic rays and sun spots are responsible for about 10 percent of variation in global warming.

For the present study, researchers used records of past temperatures obtained from historical records and tree rings. They compared this data with computer-based models of past climate changes and variation in heat from the sun.

"Until now, the influence of the sun on past climate has been poorly understood. We hope that our new discoveries will help improve our understanding of how temperatures have changed over the past few centuries, and improve predictions for how they might develop in future. Links between the sun and anomalously cold winters in the UK are still being explored," Andrew Schurer, of the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences said in a news release.

The study was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council and is published in the journal Nature GeoScience.