Arctic Warming Makes Weather in the North Last Longer

Many may have noticed that periods of very cold or very hot weather last longer than before. 

This is due to Arctic warming, according to a new UiT-led study titled  Enhanced weather persistence due to amplified Arctic warming. The study was recently published in the Nature journal Communications Earth & Environment.

Weather systems in the North are more persistent, and this can be directly linked to the rapid warming of the Arctic in recent decades, according to the researchers.

"We see that weather variations are decreasing. It is becoming more common to have long periods of either warm or cold weather," says Rune Grand Graversen to UiT.

He is a professor at the Department of Physics and Technology at UiT and has led the study. 

Atmospheric waves slow down

The warming of the Arctic in recent decades has caused atmospheric waves that transport weather systems mainly from west to east to move more slowly than before. These waves control the weather in Northern Europe and North America.

This occurs because Arctic warming happens more rapidly than in areas farther south, thereby weakening the temperature difference in the atmosphere. This leads to the wind that drives the weather systems also weakening.

This can have major consequences, says Graversen.

"Persistent weather increases the risk of extreme weather such as heatwaves, drought, and floods. For agriculture, this can be serious. Crops depend on varying weather with both sun and rain and do not tolerate well when weather types become one-sided over time."

The research team behind the study emphasizes that this change is already underway, not a future forecast.

"This is a direct consequence of climate change. The Arctic is warming rapidly, and the atmosphere reacts immediately," concludes Graversen.