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The present study investigated seasonal and spatial characteristics of the trends in surface air temperature (SAT) over Central Asia during 1979–2018 and the relative contributions of dynamic and thermodynamic effects using a dynamical adjustment methodology. Regional averaged total SAT shows the largest rising rate in spring and its trend is not obvious in winter. The thermodynamically effect induces a widespread warming trend in most of Central Asia in all the four seasons. The dynamically induced SAT trends exhibit obvious seasonal and regional differences. Both dynamic and thermodynamic effects play a crucial role in the total SAT increasing trend in spring, the thermodynamic effect is predominantly responsible for SAT warming and the dynamic effect has a secondary contribution in summer, the rising temperature in autumn is attributed to the thermodynamic effect and the dynamic effect has a negative but insignificant contribution, and the total SAT trend in winter is small due to opposite contributions of thermodynamic and dynamic effects. Further analysis revealed that the changes in the Scandinavia pattern (SCAND) during 1979–2018 are likely the cause of dynamically induced temperature trends in spring, autumn and winter. The dynamical component of summer SAT trends over eastern Central Asia is contributed by the interdecadal transition of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) and Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO). Those climate modes contribute to SAT variations via their effects on wind-induced temperature advection and surface heat fluxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent summer surface air temperature (SAT) changes over densely populated Eurasia exhibit a non‐uniform pattern with amplified warming over Europe and East Asia (EA) but weak warming over Central Asia (CA), forming a wave train‐like structure. However, the key factors that determine this non‐uniform warming pattern remain unclear. By analyzing observations and model simulations, here, we show that more than half of the SAT multidecadal variations from 1950 to 2014 over Europe‐west Asia and EA may have resulted from external forcing, rather than from internal variability in the Atlantic as previously thought. In contrast, the recent SAT over CA is influenced mainly by internal variations in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Large ensemble model simulations suggest that the forced SAT multidecadal variations over Eurasia are mainly caused by changes in greenhouse gases and aerosols. Our findings provide strong evidence for major impacts of external forcing on multidecadal climate variations over Eurasia. Plain Language Summary: Previous studies have documented non‐uniform decadal warming rates in summer since the mid‐1990s over densely populated Eurasia, with amplified warming over Europe and East Asia (EA) but weak warming over Central Asia. This unique tripole warming pattern and its cause have attracted considerable attention. It may arise from internal variability (IV; e.g., Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation [AMO]) and/or external forcing. Furthermore, it was found that the recent AMO resulted from both IV and decadal changes in aerosols. Thus, the relative contributions of IV and external forcing to the recent Eurasian warming pattern remain unclear. Here we show that the surface air temperature multidecadal variations since 1950 over Eurasia are caused by both IV and external forcing, with more than half of the variations over Europe‐west Asia and EA resulted from external forcing (i.e., greenhouse gases [GHGs] and aerosols), in contrast to the previous notion that the non‐uniform warming is mainly originated from the Atlantic Ocean. Looking ahead into the upcoming decades, aerosols will continue to decrease, whereas the AMO will likely be in its positive phase. These changes, together with continued increases in GHGs, will accelerate warming trends over Eurasia and further exacerbate summer heat waves. Key Points: More than half of the multidecadal surface air temperature (SAT) variations from 1950 to 2014 over Europe‐west Asia and East Asia resulted from external forcingThe forced SAT multidecadal variations over Eurasia are mainly caused by changes in greenhouse gases and aerosolsOur study helps reconcile human and natural drivers of the tripole pattern of multidecadal summer temperature variations over Eurasia [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]