Arctic sea-ice extent is decreasing in all months of the year. It has been shown that rapid sea-ice reduction in the autumn has impacts on winter atmospheric circulation, anomalous cold extremes and large snowfalls in the mid-latitudes.
Qiuhong Tang, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, and co-workers use observational analyses to investigate whether sea-ice decline in the winter is having an effect on atmospheric circulation and weather events. They find winter reduction is also associated with larger winter circulation changes and cold extremes through a distinct mechanism. A high-pressure anomaly is found over the subarctic due to low winter sea-ice. This leads to an increase in the frequency of cold events and reduced cyclone incidence, due to a decreased sea surface temperature gradient and lower atmospheric stratification. As sea-ice continues to decline, these results suggest more cold winter extremes for the mid-latitudes.
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Wake, B. Ice loss promotes cold. Nature Clim Change 3, 442 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1898
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1898
