A hiatus in the tropopause layer change
Despite continually increasing concentrations of greenhouse gas, there has been a hiatus in rising global temperatures during the 21st century. In this study, changes in the tropopause layer (TL) thickness are studied during the pre-hiatus and the hiatus periods, based on radiosonde data from the Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive. Statistically significant thickening occurs in the Northern (Southern) Hemisphere extratropics, at 35 ± 15.6 (59.0 ± 27.6) m decade−1, and the Northern (Southern) Hemisphere high latitudes, at 104.8 ± 21.7 (132.6 ± 97.4) m decade−1, but not in the tropics during the pre-hiatus period (1960–1997). For the hiatus period (2002–2013), significant thickening of the TL occurs only in the Southern Hemisphere extratropics (133 ± 98 m decade−1). Moreover, this study captures distinct regional characteristics in the hiatus of the TL thickening, including thinning over Alaska, Hawaii, the Western Plateau of North America, and Northern Australia.