A drop in the sun’s radiation can cause cold winters in parts of North America and Europe, scientists say, a finding that could improve long-range forecasts and help countries 【小题1】 for storms.

Scientists have known for a long time that the sun has an 11-year cycle during which radiation from the sun reaches a(n) 【小题2】 then falls. But detecting a clear link of the cycle to the weather has proved much 【小题3】.

“Our research notices a link between solar activities and regional winter climate,” lead author Sarah Ineson of the UK Met Office told the reporters in an email.

Her team focused on the data from the recent minimum solar radiation period during 2008-10, which was a(n) 【小题4】 calm period for the sun but at the same time, 【小题5】 winters in the U.S and Europe were recorded which brought troubles to many businesses and made people’s lives difficult.

The researchers found that a reduction in radiation from the sun can affect wind patterns, 【小题6】 cold winters.

“While radiation levels won’t tell us what the day-to-day weather will be, they provide the exciting 【小题7】 of improved prediction for winter conditions for months and even years ahead. These predictions play an important role in long-term weather planning,” Ineson said.

Ineson’s team used the data in a complex computer to 【小题8】 long-term weather patterns. It successfully reproduced what scientists had observed happening in the upper atmosphere during changes in solar radiation. More study was needed, though. The key 【小题9】 in the experiment lay in the satellite data used, because it spans (跨度) only a few years.” So there are still questions concerning whether the current research results are accurate and whether they can be 【小题10】 to other solar cycles,” she said.