London: Scientists have come up with a theory to explain the strange, extended seasons – where summer or winter can last for years – in Game of Thrones.

The phenomenon could be explained by a so-called 'tumbling' of the tilt of the spinning axis of the planet as it orbits the sun.

This could occur in such a way that the same hemisphere always tilts towards the sun, they suggest.

Researchers from the universities of Bristol, Cardiff and Southampton used a model to simulate the climate of Game of Thrones.