Based on air temperature data from three sites of West and
East Greenland, on ice charts for the area 54°N, 71°N and
20°W, 70°W, and on CTD profile observations around
Greenland, the annual variability of climate is shown. Mean
monthly air temperature data from Nuuk/West Greenland
reveal the long-term interannual changes of air temperature
anomalies. The warming trend which was observed during
November, December 1995 was maintained into 1996 for
about five months. Thus, spring warming of the near surface
water layers, especially on the shallow bank areas off West
Greenland has been favoured. As a result of mild air
temperatures over most of 1996, sea ice conditions were about normal around Greenland and off eastern Canada. Subsurface observations indicate considerable warming of the 0-200 m water layer off West Greenland. The thermal anomaly of this layer amounts to +1.59K, which is the second highest value on record since the warm 1964 event. The warmer than normal conditions as recorded since November 1995 off East and West Greenland, point at intermediate warming which is characteristic of the second half of the recent decades. The long-term trend of air temperature anomalies off West Greenland points, however, still at cooling, a trend which is persistent since the early 1970s. As the potential driving mechanism for the intermediate warming in the Labrador Sea area, the sea level air pressure gradient between Iceland and the Azores is identified. The 1996 value of this gradient, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) Index, is strongly negative and this represents the flow of mild air masses from the midlatitude Atlantic Ocean to the Greenland/Labrador Sea region. Accordingly, air temperature anomalies indicated unusual warming during the month of February which amounted to >2K in the region of Baffin Land, Labrador and Greenland