Apparently, the magnetic shifts in the Sun mimic those that occurred during the mini-Ice Ages of the 17th century, reports the Japanese Astronomical society. They also claim that this is the reason for the "halting" in the progress of global warming. Basically the sun's magnetic field has shifted from a straight N-S configuration - to a N-Equator Equator-S, 4 pole configuration This supposedly occurred during the 17/18th century and was responsible for the mini Ice Age.