Arctic Mid-latitude Climate and Weather Linkages

Arctic Mid-latitude Climate and Weather Linkages

The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on earth, a phenomenon known as Arctic Amplification. This is thought to have an impact on mid-latitude weather via changes in the jet stream and polar vortex. Supported by World Climate Research Programme Climate and Cryosphere project and International Arctic Science Committee funding, Prof. Edward Hanna is actively engaged with international researchers, in order to establish the nature of these links and any impact on extreme weather events and to understand their societal implications. From 2015 to 2021 our Arctic-midlatitude linkages group has published a series of high-profile review papers on this topic. Further work conducted by Prof. Hanna has shown that the North Atlantic jet stream has become significantly more variable from year to year in winter (graph below) and this is linked to more severe weather experienced in the UK in the last 10-15 years. Also Prof. Hanna carries out fundamental research into ‘blocking’ high air pressure changes over Greenland and their links with global and Arctic warming, the North Atlantic jet stream and Northwest European extreme weather. He has developed Greenland Blocking Index datasets that are archived by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (the US weather and climate service) and widely used internationally. Prof. Hanna is also a regular co-author of NOAA’s annual Arctic Report Card, which reviews the latest climate changes and impacts in the Arctic.