Time lag measured between the two hemispheres for minima (blue, dashed line) and maxima (black, thick line). Negative values indicate that the northern hemisphere cycle leads its southern counterpart. The numbers inside the squares represent the simulated cycle number. The mean lag values are −2.6 yr for minima and −2.3 yr for maxima, amounting to about 6% of the mean cycle duration. The largest individual lag values approach 10 years for cycles 3, 20 and 33, i.e. 25% of the mean cycle duration.