Observations show robust near-surface trends in Southern Hemisphere tropospheric circulation towards the end of the twentieth century, including a poleward shift in the mid-latitude jet^1,2, a positive trend in the Southern Annular Mode^1,3,4,5,6 and an expansion of the Hadley cell^7,8. It has been established that these trends were driven by ozone depletion in the Antarctic stratosphere due to emissions of ozone-depleting substances^9,10,11. Here we show that these widely reported circulation trends paused, or slightly reversed, around the year 2000. Using a pattern-based detection and attribution analysis of atmospheric zonal wind, we show that the pause in circulation trends is forced by human activities, and has not occurred owing only to internal or natural variability of the climate system. Furthermore, we demonstrate that stratospheric ozone recovery, resulting from the Montreal Protocol, is the key driver of the pause. Because pre-2000 circulation trends have affected precipitation^12,13,14, and potentially ocean circulation and salinity^15,16,17, we anticipate that a pause in these trends will have wider impacts on the Earth system. Signatures of the effects of the Montreal Protocol and the associated stratospheric ozone recovery might therefore manifest, or have already manifested, in other aspects of the Earth system.

观测显示，二十世纪末南半球对流层环流出现强劲的近地表趋势，包括中纬度急流向极地移动^1,2 ，南环模态^{1,3,4,5 呈正趋势， 6}和哈德利环流的扩展^7,8 。现已确定，这些趋势是由于臭氧消耗物质排放导致南极平流层臭氧消耗所致^9,10,11 。在这里，我们展示了这些广泛报道的环流趋势在 2000 年左右暂停或略有逆转。通过对大气纬向风进行基于模式的检测和归因分析，我们表明环流趋势的暂停是由人类活动迫使的，并且已经之所以没有发生，仅仅是因为气候系统的内部或自然变化。此外，我们证明《蒙特利尔议定书》导致的平流层臭氧恢复是暂停的关键驱动因素。由于 2000 年之前的环流趋势已经影响了降水^12,13,14 ，并可能影响海洋环流和盐度^15,16,17 ，因此我们预计这些趋势的暂停将对地球系统产生更广泛的影响。因此，《蒙特利尔议定书》的影响特征以及相关的平流层臭氧恢复可能会在地球系统的其他方面显现出来，或者已经显现出来。