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Warming overpowers low-frequency North Pacific climate variability

Nature Climate Change volume 15, pages 1279–1280 (2025)Cite this article

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The Pacific Decadal Oscillation describes the most important pattern of low-frequency climate variability in the North Pacific. An analysis of sea surface temperatures reveals that, since 2014, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation’s influence has been superseded by that of basin-wide warming, producing novel expressions of ocean variability and unexpected ecological impacts.

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Fig. 1: Long-term warming modulates biological responses to climate variability.

References

  1. Mantua, N. J., Hare, S. R., Zhang, Y., Wallace, J. M. & Francis, R. C. A Pacific interdecadal climate oscillation with impacts on salmon production. Bull. Am. Meteor. Soc. 78, 1069–1080 (1997). The paper that defined the PDO and describes its historical impact on North Pacific salmon fisheries.

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This is a summary of: Cluett, A. A. et al. Pan-basin warming now overshadows robust Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Nat. Clim. Change https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02482-z (2025).

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Warming overpowers low-frequency North Pacific climate variability. Nat. Clim. Chang. 15, 1279–1280 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02495-8

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