By Alister Doyle
Oslo - A dimming of the sun to match conditions in the "Little Ice Age" of the 17th century would only slightly slow global warming, a study indicated on Wednesday.
A weakening of solar activity in recent years, linked to fewer sunspots, would cut at most 0.3 degree Celsius from a projected rise in temperatures by 2100 if it becomes a long-lasting "Grand Minimum" of brightness, they said.
"The notion that we are heading for a new Little Ice Age if the sun actually entered a Grand Minimum is wrong," Georg Feulner, lead author of the study at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said in a statement.
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World temperatures are likely to rise by between 3.7 and 4.5 degrees Celsius by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions keep building up - far more than the impact of known shifts in solar output, the study showed.
The sun has gone through four Grand Minima since the 13th century, including the Maunder Minimum from 1645-1715 that overlapped with the Little Ice Age. The Thames River froze in London, for instance, during a "Great Frost" of 1683-84.
World temperatures have risen 0.7 Celsius since the Industrial Revolution led to increasing use of fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases when burnt, according to the UN panel of climate scientists. - Reuters
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