Huo et al. (2026): More pronounced El Niño-like warming in boreal autumn and winter under CO₂ removal scenario
Chunhong Huo, Shijie Zhou, and Ping Huang, IN: Journal of Climate, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-24-0406.1
The seasonal sea surface temperature (SST) changes in the tropical Pacific have significant implications for regional climate under greenhouse warming. In a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) scenario, the change in equatorial Pacific SST displays a more pronounced El Niño-like warming pattern induced by a weakened ocean dynamical thermostat effect during CO₂ ramp-down, but its seasonal variation is less well understood compared to the CO₂ ramp-up period. Through an idealized CDR experiment, they reveal that the seasonal variations in the El Niño like warming pattern tend to be asymmetric between the CO₂ ramp-up and ramp-down periods, despite achieving the same level of warming specified by the 2°C target set by the Paris Agreement.