According to a new research by Prof. Valentina Zharkova at the National Astronomy Meeting in Llandudno, solar activity will fall dramatically during the 2030s to levels last seen during the mini ice age between 1646 and 1715. A prolonged period of solar inactivity could lead to a phenomenon known as the 'Maunder minimum' when sunspots are rare and temperatures plummet. Rivers which usually remain ice-free would likely freeze over, as London's River Thames did in the seventeenth century. More at Mail Online.