Spatial heterogeneity of the Holocene winter temperature in mid-latitude Asia

The Holocene temperature conundrum limits our understanding of the past climate-environment-human interaction. Here we reconstructed Holocene winter and growing-season temperatures based on the Pediastrum body size and assemblage from lakes in mid-latitude Asia. Winter temperatures exhibited a warm early Holocene in northeastern China, aligning with growing-season temperature, whereas the Altai Mountains experienced continuous warming trend during the Holocene. The temperature difference was supported by other seasonal/annual temperature records, which indicated that there was spatial heterogeneity rather than seasonal bias in Holocene temperature conundrum. Ice sheets were the main drivers of cold early Holocene, while the latent-heat transport driven by the monsoon contributed to the divergence of Holocene temperature evolution in northeastern China. Our results demonstrate that spatial heterogeneity is a major cause of the Holocene temperature conundrum, linked to the heat redistribution within the Earth system, highlighting the critical role of ocean-atmosphere interactions in shaping spatial patterns of Holocene temperature. A warm early Holocene in the east contrasts with a warmer middle-late Holocene in central mid-latitude Asia, linked to heat redistribution and the importance of ocean-atmosphere interactions in shaping temperature patterns during this period, according to analysis of four lakes records in mid-latitude Asia.