Dramatic climate changes are currently being observed in the Arctic, and they are occurring at an incredible rate. Driven by global warming, averaged near-surface air temperatures in the Arctic have been rising two to three times faster than anywhere else on the globe in recent decades. September ice cover in the Arctic has decreased by nearly half since satellite-based observations began in the 1970s. In 30 to 50 years, the Arctic is expected to be nearly ice-free in summer.

The increased sensitivity of the Arctic climate system is commonly referred to as Arctic amplification. The underlying processes for this enhanced response of the Arctic climate system are not yet fully understood in terms of their interaction and relative importance. This knowledge gap also poses problems in assessing the impact of Arctic climate change on our mid-latitude weather. Climate models so far do not allow a clear causal conclusion on the relationship between climate changes in the Arctic and the increase of extreme weather (above average cold/warm winter/summer periods) in Europe and North America.

In the podcast, we discuss possible hypotheses on how the Arctic climate might affect our weather in Central Europe.

With: Prof. Dr. Manfred Wendisch, University of Leipzig
and Prof. Dr. Christoph Schneider, Humboldt University Berlin