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Climate change in the Arctic has substantial impacts on human life and ecosystems both within and beyond the Arctic. Our analysis of CMIP6 simulations shows that some climate models project much larger Arctic climate change than other models, including changes in sea ice, ocean mixed layer, air‐sea heat flux, and surface air temperature in wintertime. In particular, dramatic enhancement of Arctic Ocean convection down to a few hundred meters is projected in these models but not in others. Interestingly, these models employ the same ocean model family (NEMO) while the choice of models for the atmosphere and sea ice varies. The magnitude of Arctic climate change is proportional to the strength of the increase in poleward ocean heat transport, which is considerably higher in this group of models. Establishing the plausibility of this group of models with high Arctic climate sensitivity to anthropogenic forcing is imperative given the implied ramifications. Plain Language Summary: Arctic climate is projected to change dramatically in the future based on the latest climate models. However, there is a large discrepancy between these climate models. We find that simulated Arctic climate change tends to be much larger in models using the community ocean model "NEMO" as their ocean component. Future Arctic climate change in winter strongly depends on the strength of the increase in poleward ocean heat transport, which is considerably higher in the NEMO‐family climate models. There are some indications that this group of models can better reproduce the observed winter sea ice decline and mixed layer depth in the Barents Sea in their historical simulations. We suggest that investigating the model physics in the NEMO‐family climate models in comparison with other models may ultimately help to reduce the overall uncertainty in climate change projections. Key Points: Future Arctic climate change in winter strongly depends on the strength of the increase in poleward ocean heat transport (OHT)Arctic climate change in the NEMO‐family climate models is much more pronouncedNEMO‐family climate models have larger increases in poleward OHT [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the early 20th century, the Arctic experienced a period of remarkable warming, often called the early 20th century warming (ETCW). However, the degree of the response to external climate forcing on the Arctic surface air temperature is not well understood. Climate simulations using a state‐of‐the‐art climate model of Meteorological Research Institute (MRI‐ESM2.0) and multimodel analyses were conducted to better understand ETCW. The MRI‐ESM2.0 historical simulations successfully reproduced the observed ETCW and the corresponding decreases in sea ice extent. Detection and attribution experiments using MRI‐ESM2.0 suggest that internal climate variability and external natural forcings by solar and volcanic activities had major influences on the model‐simulated ETCW, rather than external anthropogenic forcings. Multimodel analyses indicate that the Arctic warming trend during 1911–1940 induced by natural forcings is comparable to the unforced multidecadal internal variability, suggesting major contributions of the internal dynamics and natural forcings to ETCW. Plain Language Summary: Instrumental records show that there was significant warming in the Arctic during the first half of the 20th century, known as the early 20th century warming (ETCW). Climate simulations using a state‐of‐the‐art climate model of Meteorological Research Institute (MRI‐ESM2.0) suggest that external natural forcings, i.e., long‐lasting quiet volcanic activity and increased solar activity, influenced the model‐simulated ETCW and associated sea ice decrease. Multimodel analyses indicate the robustness of the MRI‐ESM2.0 results and suggest that the climatic response of Arctic surface air temperature to external natural forcings in the ETCW period is comparable to the unforced multidecadal internal variability of the models, suggesting a major contribution of unforced multidecadal internal variability and natural forcings to ETCW. Key Points: Climate model MRI‐ESM2.0 reproduces the Arctic surface air temperature rising and associated sea ice loss observed in the early 20th centuryMRI‐ESM2.0 results indicate that the natural forcings and the internal variability are main contributors to Arctic warming during 1920–1940Multimodel analyses suggest the Arctic warming response to natural forcings in 1911–1940 is comparable to the unforced internal variability [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of future Arctic amplification (AA) on the extratropical atmospheric circulation remains unclear in modeling studies. Using a collection of coordinated atmospheric and coupled global climate model perturbation experiments, we find an emergent relationship between the high‐latitude 1,000–500 hPa thickness response and an enhancement of the Siberian High in winter. This wave number‐1‐like sea level pressure anomaly pattern is linked to an equatorward shift of the eddy‐driven jet and a dynamical cooling response in eastern Asia. Additional simulations, where AA is imposed directly into the model domain by nudging, demonstrate how the sea ice forcing is insufficient by itself to capture the vertical extent of the warming and by extension the amplitude of the response in the Siberian High. This study demonstrates the importance of the vertical extent of the tropospheric warming over the polar cap in revealing the "warm Arctic, cold Siberia" anomaly pattern in future projections. Plain Language Summary: Surface air temperature averaged within the Arctic Circle is rising more than twice as fast as the rate of the globally averaged temperature. This is known as "Arctic amplification" and is the result of numerous feedbacks in the Earth system. This warming is not restricted to the surface, as the temperature is also increasing at least to the middle troposphere in the Arctic. The effects of this warming on weather patterns in the midlatitudes remain uncertain in observations and model simulations. In this study, we conduct a series of climate model experiments to better understand how the vertical extent of warming in the Arctic atmosphere connects to a strengthening of the Siberian High in boreal winter. This high‐pressure response leads to colder air temperatures in eastern Asia through advection. We find that climate models prescribed with only Arctic sea ice loss do not fully capture the vertical extent of warming in the atmosphere, and thus underestimate the linkage between projected Arctic amplification and Eurasian climate. Key Points: Climate models forced only by sea ice anomalies do not capture the vertical extent of Arctic warming during winterIncrease in thickness of the winter 1,000–500 hPa layer is linked to a strengthening of the Siberian High and cold anomalies in eastern AsiaRole of the stratosphere is unclear due to large internal variability at future global warming of 2° C above preindustrial levels [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]