Spatiotemporal Variation of Temperature Extremes over the Arctic Lands Based on In Situ and Reanalysis Data

Changes in extreme temperatures have more effects on ecosystems and human society than changes in climate averages. As a hotspot of global warming, the Arctic has experienced unprecedented heatwaves recently, which highlights the importance of identifying long-term variations of extreme temperatures. However, spatial unbalance of ob-servations and artificially chosen investigation periods limit our knowledge of extreme temperatures over the Arctic lands. Here, we build a complete and quality-controlled observation network on surface temperature over the Arctic lands and combine in situ and reanalysis data to evaluate changes of extreme temperatures during the period 1979-2020. Our results indicate that 1) the increase in extreme temperatures has accelerated since the 2000s, especially on the coast of Eurasia; 2) the change magnitude for cold events is larger than for warm events, in terms of intensity, frequency, and duration; and 3) increases in warm events only occur locally, for example, Alaska and central Siberia, while decreases in cold events occur throughout the Arctic lands. The long-term trends of extreme temperatures are synchronous with sea ice loss, and patterns of interannual variations are mainly related to the North Atlantic Oscillation. We suggest further efforts toward improvement over North America, especially for Greenland, through sufficient observations and regional models.

Automated summary

Research indicates that changes in extreme temperatures have a greater impact on ecosystems and human society than changes in climate averages. The Arctic, a hotspot of global warming, has recently experienced unprecedented heatwaves, which emphasizes the need to identify long-term variations in extreme temperatures. However, spatial imbalance of observations and arbitrarily chosen investigation periods limit our understanding of extreme temperatures in the Arctic region. This study establishes a comprehensive and quality-controlled observation network for surface temperatures in the Arctic lands and combines in situ and reanalysis data to assess changes in extreme temperatures from 1979 to 2020. The results demonstrate an acceleration in the increase of extreme temperatures since the 2000s, particularly along the coast of Eurasia, and a larger magnitude of change for cold events compared to warm events.