An upper limit prediction of the peak sunspot number for solar cycle 24

In this paper we address the prediction of the maximum sunspot number in solar cycle 24. We correlate the integral sunspot activity related to the variability of the cycle decrease speed in the declining phase with the height of the next sunspot maximum. Using this method we predict that the sunspot maximum of cycle 24 will be weaker than the previous one and its peak value will not exceed 72.