August was first month without sunspots since 1913

DailyTech – Sun Makes History: First Spotless Month in a Century:

The sun has reached a milestone not seen for nearly 100 years: an entire month has passed without a single visible sunspot being noted.

The event is significant as many climatologists now believe solar magnetic activity – which determines the number of sunspots — is an influencing factor for climate on earth.

According to data from Mount Wilson Observatory, UCLA, more than an entire month has passed without a spot. The last time such an event occurred was June of 1913. Sunspot data has been collected since 1749.

Some scientists think that global warming in the 20th century was influenced by increased solar activity. With this decrease in solar activity we’re witnessing a natural experiment in that theory.