Abrupt climate change is a striking feature of many climate records, particularly the warming events in Greenland ice cores. These abrupt and high-amplitude events were tightly coupled to rapid sea-ice retreat in the North Atlantic and Nordic Seas, and observational evidence shows they had global repercussions. In the present-day Arctic, sea-ice loss is also key to ongoing warming. This Perspective uses observations and climate models to place contemporary Arctic change into the context of past abrupt Greenland warmings. We find that warming rates similar to or higher than modern trends have only occurred during past abrupt glacial episodes. We argue that the Arctic is currently experiencing an abrupt climate change event, and that climate models underestimate this ongoing warming.

突然的气候变化是许多气候记录的显着特征，尤其是格陵兰岛冰芯的变暖事件。这些突变和高振幅事件与北大西洋和北欧海域的快速海冰撤退紧密相关，观测证据表明它们具有全球影响。在当今的北极地区，海冰的流失也是持续变暖的关键。本观点使用观测和气候模型将当代北极的变化置于过去格陵兰岛突然变暖的背景下。我们发现，类似或高于现代趋势的升温速度仅发生在过去的突然冰川事件期间。我们认为，北极地区目前正经历着一场突然的气候变化事件，而气候模型低估了这种持续升温的趋势。