Future aerosol reductions and widening of the northern tropical belt

Observations show that the tropical belt has widened over the past few decades, a phenomenon associated with poleward migration of subtropical dry zones and large-scale atmospheric circulation. Although part of this signal is related to natural climate variability, studies have identified an externally forced contribution primarily associated with greenhouse gases (GHGs) and stratospheric ozone loss. Here we show that the increase in aerosols over the twentieth century has led to contraction of the northern tropical belt, thereby offsetting part of the widening associated with the increase in GHGs. Over the 21st century, however, when aerosol emissions are projected to decrease, the effects of aerosols and GHGs reinforce one another, both contributing to widening of the northern tropical belt. Models that have larger aerosol forcing, by including aerosol indirect effects on cloud albedo and lifetime, yield significantly larger Northern Hemisphere (NH) tropical widening than models with direct aerosol effects only. More targeted simulations show that future reductions in aerosols can drive NH tropical widening as large as greenhouse gases, and idealized simulations show the importance of NH midlatitude aerosol forcing. Mechanistically, the 21st century reduction in aerosols peaks near 40 degrees N, which results in a corresponding maximum increase in surface solar radiation, NH midlatitude tropospheric warming amplification, and a poleward shift in the latitude of maximum baroclinicity, implying a corresponding shift in atmospheric circulation. If models with aerosol indirect effects better represent the real world, then future aerosol changes are likely to be an important-if not dominant-driver of NH tropical belt widening.