Arctic warming and its influence on East Asian winter cold events: a brief recap

Abstract

The rate of warming of Arctic surface temperature is about 2？3 times faster than the global mean surface warming. Increases of ice albedo feedback and water vapor as well as moisture intrusion from outside the Arctic all have major roles in this phenomenon. In contrast to this rapid Arctic warming, in recent decades, stronger cold air outbreaks have occurred more frequently during winter in East Asia than were recorded in the 1990s, resulting in severe socioeconomic impacts. A number of related studies have claimed the increased frequency of these stronger cold air outbreaks is linked to the amplified warming in the Arctic through complicated mechanisms. As there are time lags between the observed Arctic warming and East Asian cold weather response at various scales, understanding the entire chain of processes from the Arctic to East Asia has importance for forecasting winter weather in East Asia. There are two pathways linking Arctic warming with East Asian cold weather events. One is the synoptic-scale pathway in the lower troposphere via strengthening of the Siberian High initiated by Ural blocking. The other is the planetary-scale path through the stratosphere via activation of planetary waves and downward propagation, which weakens the polar vortex. This study briefly reviews the current understanding of the linkage mechanisms between Arctic warming and East Asian winter cold weather.