Recent Progresses in the Study of the Arctic–Midlatitude Connection and Its Association with Arctic Sea Ice Loss

This study provides an overview of the recent (2018–2023) progress in the research on the Arctic–Eurasian midlatitude linkage and its relation to Arctic sea ice loss. The progress involves these aspects: (1) Substantial understanding of the contribution of Arctic sea ice melting in an extreme snowfall event in Europe, which cannot be explained by the influence of Arctic sea ice variations on atmospheric circulation, as suggested in previous studies. (2) The response of winter Asian regional temperatures to the continuous melting of Arctic sea ice shows significant low-frequency oscillation characteristics. The continuous melting of Arctic sea ice is suitable for the alternative occurrence of warm Arctic–cold Eurasia (2004/2005–2012/2013) and warm Arctic–warm Eurasia (2013/2014–2016/2017). In the former phase, an enhanced Arctic-midlatitude connection was found; meanwhile, in the latter phase, the linkage between the Arctic and East Asia weakened. However, the mechanism by which sea ice melting impacts the strength of the Arctic–Eurasian connection is unclear. (3) At summer mean and subseasonal time scales, summer heatwaves in the mid- and low-latitudes of East Asia are dynamically linked to the simultaneous cold anomalies in the mid- and low-troposphere over the Arctic. Arctic summer cold anomalies are suitable for slowing down Arctic sea ice melting and offer a precursor signal to forecast East Asian winter monsoon. (4) Arctic sea ice loss does not generate a substantial impact on summer precipitation variability in the South to North China region. (5) Although the important roles of the troposphere–stratosphere interactions are stressed in linking Arctic sea ice loss to weather events and climate variability in the midlatitudes, the causal-effect linkage remains weak, and the uncertainty of the impact of the stratosphere process on weather events and climate variability is greater than troposphere process. (6) It is no longer practical to differentiate the different roles of Arctic sea ice forcing and atmospheric internal variability in weather events and climate variability. Future work should pay more attention to the role of Arctic sea ice melting in the resulting low-frequency atmospheric circulation variability and the impacts of the spatial distribution differences in Arctic sea ice anomalies and different abnormal amplitudes. Moreover, quantitative research is required to examine the roles of Arctic sea ice melting in extreme weather and climate events.