Regardless of the slowdown in global warming during the hiatus period, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the southwestern Indian Ocean (SWIO) have experienced sustained decadal warming for more than two decades since the mid-1990s. The SWIO SSTs warmed steadily during 1996–2016, causing a warming hot spot of 0.4 K decade⁻¹ in a large region east of Madagascar. An upper-layer heat budget analysis indicated that heat advection by ocean currents was the greatest contributor to the warming of the SWIO SSTs. The existence of an anticyclonic geostrophic current along the western boundary of the SWIO tended to maintain such warming by transporting warmer water from the west into the SWIO region. In addition, net positive heat transport by ocean currents also occurred at the southern boundary of the SWIO as the climatological northward transport of cold water from the Southern Ocean weakened. This reduction in northward ocean currents at the surface was caused by local wind stress changes, leading to a southward Ekman current. Below the surface, an anticyclonic geostrophic current pattern existed around the warming center near the southeastern SWIO, which reduced the transport of cold waters from the Southern Ocean and warmed the SWIO. These processes near the two boundaries formed a self-sustaining positive feedback mechanism and favored the maintenance of sustained warming in the SWIO. More attention is needed to analyze the sustained long-lasting warming in the SWIO, as it is a unique phenomenon occurring under the background of the ongoing global warming.

不管中断期间全球变暖的速度如何，自1990年代中期以来，印度洋西南部（SWIO）的海表温度（SST）一直经历十年来的持续变暖。SWIO SST在1996-2016年期间稳定地变暖，导致0.4 K十年^-1的变暖热点在马达加斯加以东的一个大区域。上层热量收支分析表明，洋流对流是SWIO SST变暖的最大原因。SWIO西部边界存在反旋风地转流，通过将较暖的水从西部输送到SWIO区域来保持这种变暖。此外，由于来自南大洋的冷水向气候的北移，气候变弱，SWIO的南部边界也发生了洋流带来的净正热传输。地表北洋流的这种减少是由于局部的风应力变化而引起的，从而导致了向南的埃克曼流。在地表以下，东南SWIO附近的变暖中心周围存在反旋风地转流模式，这减少了来自南大洋的冷水的运输，并使SWIO变暖。这两个边界附近的过程形成了一种自我维持的正反馈机制，并有利于维持SWIO的持续变暖。需要更多的注意力来分析SWIO中持续的持续变暖，因为这是在持续的全球变暖背景下发生的独特现象。