Cold Winters in Europe, Asia Linked to Sea Ice Decline

In the latest study to look at the possible connection between the precipitous decline of Arctic sea ice and extreme weather over the Northern Hemisphere, researchers found that cold winters over Europe and Asia were twice as likely thanks to sea ice decline in a particular part of the Arctic.

A comparison of the sea ice extent minimum on Sept. 16, 2012, (in white) to the average minimum during the past 30 years (yellow line).

The proposed connection between the precipitous decline of Arctic sea ice and extreme weather over North America, Europe and Asia has garnered a lot of public attention in recent years, particularly after the polar vortex-fueled frigid winter the eastern U.S. just had.

But how exactly the sea ice is influencing the larger atmosphere has been difficult to tease out, and computer models haven’t been able to find a robust connection.  The new study, detailed online Oct. 26 in the journal Nature Geoscience, was able to find a connection by conducting a large number of computer model simulations and determining there is a link between sea ice decline and cold winters over Europe and Asia, at least.

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