Recent increase in snow cover as a contributing driver to autumn cooling in central Eurasia

Abstract In the context of global warming, autumn air temperatures in central Eurasia have exhibited a cooling trend over the past two decades. However, the extent to which snow cover contributes to the cooling remains unclear. This study reveals that despite a general decrease in global snow cover extent, the autumn snow cover percentage over central Eurasia has increased by 5.38% per decade in the past two decades. Quantitative assessments indicate that the contribution of this increase in snow cover to the observed cooling was 21.5%. We also found that the increase in snow cover leads to a reduction in net shortwave radiation, which is the primary mechanism of the cooling effect induced by snow cover. This study advances our understanding of the evolution of the global climate system and provides scientific support for addressing climate change.