Dong et al. (2026) The weakest warming rate in spring over the mid-to-high latitude land in a warming climate

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Climate
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-16
• Authors: Hongqiang Dong, Fengfei Song, Lu Dong, Fukai Liu, Lixin Wu
• DOI: 10.1175/jcli-d-26-0222.1

Research Groups

• Climate Dynamics Group, University of California, Berkeley
• Earth System Science Department, University of Colorado Boulder
• National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)

Short Summary

This study investigates the annual cycle of temperature changes in a warming climate over mid-to-high latitude land areas and finds that spring is the weakest-warming season. The weakened spring warming alleviates approximately one-quarter of the projected advance of spring phenology.

Objective

• Investigate how global warming affects the annual cycle of surface temperature over mid-to-high latitude land areas

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global, with a focus on mid-to-high latitude land regions (30°–90°N and 30°S–90°S)
• Temporal Scale: End of 21st century under a high emission scenario based on CMIP6 models

Methodology and Data

• Models used: CMIP6 climate models
• Data sources: Satellite, observation, and reanalysis datasets for validation and analysis

Main Results

• Spring surface warming is 0.73±0.35 K and 0.20±0.18 K weaker than the annual mean warming in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, respectively, by the end of 21st century under a high emission scenario.
• Reduced downward longwave radiation (caused by enhanced effective atmospheric heat capacity) and enhanced evaporation are responsible for the weakest spring warming.

Contributions

• This study provides new insights into the annual cycle of temperature changes in a warming climate over mid-to-high latitude land areas, shedding light on the far-reaching implications for ecosystem dynamics, agricultural management, and carbon cycling.
• The findings suggest that weakened spring warming could alleviate approximately one-quarter of the projected advance of spring phenology.

Funding

• National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant #2134567
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Grant #80NSSC20K0484
• European Research Council (ERC) Grant #101020202

Citation

@article{Dong2026weakest,
  author = {Dong, Hongqiang and Song, Fengfei and Dong, Lu and Liu, Fukai and Wu, Lixin},
  title = {The weakest warming rate in spring over the mid-to-high latitude land in a warming climate},
  journal = {Journal of Climate},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1175/jcli-d-26-0222.1},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-26-0222.1}
}