We now have the lowest solar activity in 200 years, measured by the solar activity proxy of sunspot counts.
It is accompanied by high northern hemispheric snow and Ice.
In May 2017 the sunspot number was 18.8, only 36% of what is typical for the month this far into the 11 year solar cycle.
There were seven days with no sunspot activity at all.
Periods of weak solar activity are associated with cooler periods, and altered weather patterns.
The current cycle, Solar Cycle 24 (SC 24), is significantly weaker than the average for the past 200 years, and far weaker than cycles throughout most of the warming 20th century.
The current SC 24 has been the weakest solar cycle since SC 6, close to 200 years ago.
SC 24 even has a small chance to overtake SC 5, to become the second weakest cycle since observations began in 1755.
Arctic sea ice has been surprising many observers lately because it has so far refused to melt like some predicted it would.
A recent scientific global warming expedition to the Arctic had to be cancelled – due to excessive ice!
Dr. David Barber, lead scientist on the study, said the unexpected amount of ice was caused by “climate change” (a meaningless statement).
Barber also said: “It became clear to me very quickly that these weren’t just heavy ice conditions, these were unprecedented ice conditions."
Northern hemisphere snow cover is well above normal as of June 15, 2017, according to Environment Canada -- more than one standard deviation above the mean.
Greenland's accumulated surface mass balance, as computed by the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), is far above the mean.
Antarctica and the Southern Ocean have been cooling since the 1970s.
There is nothing unusual or unprecedented about today’s climate.
It is well within the range of natural variability.