Hot Arctic-Cold Continents: Global Impacts of Arctic Change

International Polar Year Oslo Science Conference; Oslo, Norway, 8–12 June 2010; A warmer Arctic climate is influencing air pressure over the North Pole and wind patterns over the Northern Hemisphere. In response, recent data and modeling suggest that more cold and snowy winters can be expected in Europe, eastern Asia, and eastern North America. These were some of the issues discussed at the International Polar Year (IPY) conference, the largest polar science meeting ever held, with more than 2400 attendees. More than 80 scientific papers debated the state of the science regarding Arctic amplification and midlatitude connections. Arctic amplification is just that: The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, caused by unique physical processes related in part to loss of sea ice. Arctic amplification is also a consequence of changes in atmospheric circulation that are anthropogenically forced, part of chaotic variability, or both.