Early to Mid‐Holocene Cool Temperature‐Induced Drought in Asian Interior

Abstract Hydroclimatic variations in mid‐latitude Asia during the early to mid‐Holocene and associated mechanisms remain disputed, hampering our understanding of atmospheric circulation controls on regional climatic changes. We report Holocene alkenone records from two Siberian lakes, documenting lake temperature and hydrological changes, and synthesize records from mid‐latitude Asia to address regional hydroclimatic variability. Relatively dry conditions occurred in westerlies‐dominated regions and extended to marginal monsoon regions before ∼6,000 a BP, followed by wetting transitions during ∼6,000–5,000 a BP, despite contrasting temperature variations between two regions. We suggest that early to mid‐Holocene drought in mid‐latitude Asian interior appears to be associated with enhanced anticyclonic system over mid‐high latitude Eurasian continent, induced by prevailing cold airmasses, which extended its hydrological control to marginal monsoon regions. Our findings explain the spatial heterogeneity of hydrological changes in mid‐latitude Asia, and opposite temperature‐moisture associations within westerlies‐dominated and marginal monsoon regions during the early to mid‐Holocene.