§ 35. Mr. Gresham Cookeasked the Secretary of State for Air what advice he has received from his meteorological advisers as to the extent to which weather conditions in this country are indirectly attributable to sunspot activity; and whether, having regard to the more intense sunspot activity expected in 1957, he expects the summer in 1957 to be better or worse than in 1956.
Mr. WardDespite work in this country and elsewhere, it has not been possible to establish any direct or indirect relationship between sunspot activity and the weather in this country. The second part of the Question does not therefore arise.
§ Mr. Gresham CookeIs it not generally agreed that there is an indirect connection between sunspot activity and the weather, and would my right hon. Friend cause further inquiries to be made through his officers, because, if such a connection could be established, would it not be very useful in the long-range forecasting of weather conditions?
Mr. WardI quite agree. If it could be established, it would. Attempts have been made over many years to establish some relationship between sunspots and the weather, but so far, unfortunately, none of these experiments has shown any clear relationship between them.