New Study Indicates The North Atlantic Is Colder Now Than Any Other Time In The Last 9000 Years

According to a new study, abrupt (±1-2°C per century) shifts in North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) have occurred routinely over the last 9000 years. These decadal- to centennial-scale climate changes were “induced by Holocene summer insolation and atmosphere-ocean internal variability.”

The average SST throughout the 8.2 ka fluctuation was 10.0°C. The average 4.2 ka SST was 8.1°C. And during the Little Ice Age (LIA, 1600-1900 CE) the North Atlantic SSTs averaged 7.5°C.

Since 1900, SSTs have been stable to declining, suggesting the modern period is the coldest of the Holocene.

Image Source: Liu et al., 2025

North Atlantic SSTs have not warmed (net) in the last 120 years, or since the late 1800s.

Image Source: Reverdin et al., 2018