The decline in Arctic sea ice over the past few decades has doubled the chance of severe winters in Europe and Asia, a new study shows.

Researchers performed computer simulations to show that sea-ice decline in the Arctic Barents and Kara seas since 2004 is linked to blocking situations of the jetstream which in turn favours the transport of cold air over Europe and Asia. This trend could decrease towards the end of the twenty-first century, because of climate warming.

Original research paper published in Nature Geoscience on October 26, 2014.

Names and affiliations of selected authors

Masato Mori, University of Tokyo, Japan