Maunder Minimum in 1704 (Saka Sirhind) to Farmers protest now

In 2014 a group of around 50 stayed out in the open in Gurudwara Jyoti Saroop, Fatehgarh Sahib on the night of December 19, to have at least some experience of the utter chill which the two little boys ..

..(younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh) and their grandmother were made to stay in the raised structure – Thhandda Burj (chilly minaret) - which was designed to remain cool even during summer - in the coldest days and nights of the year in 1704.

Can those staying at the borders of Delhi in these chilling nights experience that chill? No.

In 1704 these were the days of Maunder Minimum when temperature was further low and winters were colder than average.

Expert view (quoted in this story) - During Maunder Minimum from 1650 to 1715 temperature across Northern Hemisphere, of which India is also a part, faced the impact. as there were very few sun spots on the surface of the sun.

Intensity of sunrays had decreased which led to fall in the temperature of the earth specially in the Northern Hemisphere. This period was also called Little Ice Age. Temperature lowered 5 to 6 degrees further than the average winter temperature during this phase.

Read on this story from 2014

Braving the chill for faith http://toi.in/nWHitb/a24gj  via @timesofindia