Between 2021 and 2023, Antarctica experienced a record increase of 695 billion tons of ice, briefly slowing the continent's overall ice loss. This finding, published in the journal Nature on August 19, 2026, comes from a study by researchers at the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS). The increase in ice was driven by heavy snowfall in East Antarctica, which temporarily offset the ice loss typically seen in other regions of the continent. The study identified a sustained warming in the tropical warm pool as a key factor. This region, located where the tropical western Pacific meets the eastern Indian Ocean, is known for its high temperatures and humidity. The warming in this area triggered a large-scale atmospheric pattern known as a Rossby wave train. This pattern moved toward the high southern latitudes, altering atmospheric conditions around Antarctica. The result was a north-south dipole: low pressure formed south of Australia, while high pressure developed along the East Antarctic coast. This pressure difference redirected atmospheric rivers—narrow bands of moisture in the atmosphere—toward East Antarctica. These atmospheric rivers brought significant amounts of water vapor to the Queen Mary Land-Wilkes Land region, leading to sustained heavy snowfall. The added snow contributed substantial mass to the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. However, the researchers noted that only 9% of the increased snowfall could be attributed to human-caused climate change, suggesting that natural atmospheric patterns, rather than global warming, were the primary drivers of this event. While the study highlights the role of the tropical warm pool as a remote "regulator" of Antarctic snowfall and ice mass, the researchers caution that this increase was temporary. The overall trend of ice loss in Antarctica remains unchanged, particularly in West Antarctica, where the ice sheet continues to lose mass. Additionally, some glaciers in East Antarctica are still at risk from warm ocean currents melting ice shelves from below.