In April 2016 the sun was quiet.
April 2016 was month #89 of the unusually calm solar cycle #24.
The sunspot number (SSN) was 38.0 -- half of a typical count for month #89 of a solar cycle.
The sunspot count correlates positively with solar energy output.
Also unusual is this change to the sun's polar field:
--- The south polar field is now almost four times stronger than the weaker northern field.
--- This has never been observed at this stage of the solar cycle since observations began 40 years ago.
The current solar cycle #24 is weaker in total than solar cycle #7, from 1823 to 1833, during the "Dalton Minimum".
In fact, solar cycle #24 so far has been the weakest solar cycle in close to 200 years, since solar cycle #6.
In the past, unusually weak solar cycles have been associated with an unusually cool climate.