We are in the final stages of a Solar Minimum, a normal part of the 11-year sunspot cycle. According to perspectaweather.com, one of the consequences of a solar minimum is a tendency for increased “high-latitude blocking” events in the atmosphere during the wintertime with higher pressure compared to normal over such places as Greenland, Iceland and northern Canada.
But in addition to the impact on the phenomena cited above, studies have shown a correlation between solar activity and volcanic activity here on Earth. Volcanic activity in the past has been compared to annual sunspot numbers and it has been found that there is a reduction during periods of prolonged maxima of solar activity and an increase in times of solar minimum.
The exact relationship between solar activity and volcanic activity is still not clear and there are numerous theories.
The Hawai’i eruption this week was intense but short. Watch it here.