Slowdown of wintertime Arctic amplification since 2012

<p>A significant climate phenomenon “Arctic amplification” emerged during the late twentieth century, wherein the Arctic warming is faster than the rest of the world. However, recent episodes of the decreased rate of Arctic sea ice loss may bring prominent alterations to this uneven warming trend. Here, we re-evaluate the warming pattern, revealing an obvious slowdown of winter Arctic amplification since 2012, which probably contributes to the recent reversal in the winter surface wind speed in boreal midlatitudes. This slowdown may be attributed to the clearly slowed Arctic sea ice loss, especially in the Barents and Kara Seas, which is modulated by the weakened Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Our findings emphasize the urgent need for a more intensive analysis of the recent Arctic warming trend and its consequences for the broader Earth system.</p>