Global warming rewires the Pacific-Indian Ocean climate link
A Nature Communications study shows the Pacific Walker circulation's influence on Indian Ocean temperatures has weakened and reversed in recent decades due to human-caused warming, meaning tropical ocean relationships once used for climate prediction are shifting; the researchers reconstructed Indo-Pacific patterns from 1631 to 1990 using coral, tree rings, and a stalagmite, and while the 19th‑century volcanic era briefly disrupted the link, today’s warming signals a lasting change with implications for climate predictability and regional water management.