# Antarctic ice sheet mass loss anomaly > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/antarctic-ice-sheet-mass-loss-anomaly > Updated: 2026-08-27T18:03:20.000Z. Sources: 2. Developments: 2. Research published in the journal Nature has identified a rare weather anomaly that temporarily slowed the mass loss of the Antarctic ice sheet between 2021 and 2023. Scientists found that warming in the tropical warm pool, located where the western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans meet, triggered large-scale atmospheric Rossby waves. These waves created a dipole circulation pattern and high-pressure anomalies over East Antarctica. This process redirected moisture-rich air from the Indian Ocean toward the continent via atmospheric rivers, resulting in heavy snowfall that offset ice loss in West Antarctica. While the Antarctic ice sheet lost an average of approximately 140.5 billion tons of ice annually between 2003 and 2024, the period from July 2021 to April 2023 saw a mass increase of about 695 billion tons, primarily in East Antarctica. Experts note that this phenomenon may occur only once every decade and does not indicate a reversal or halt of global warming. ## Timeline ### 2026-08-27: Antarctic ice loss slowed temporarily by rare weather anomaly A study in Nature reveals that unusual warming in the tropical Pacific caused heavy snowfall in East Antarctica, temporarily offsetting ice mass losses between 2021 and 2023. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/antarctic-ice-loss-slowed-temporarily-by-rare-weather-anomaly ### 2026-08-20: Antarctic ice sheet mass loss slowdown linked to tropical ocean warming Research published in Nature shows that warming in the tropical warm pool triggered atmospheric waves that increased snowfall in East Antarctica, temporarily slowing ice sheet mass loss. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/antarctic-ice-sheet-mass-loss-slowdown-linked-to-tropical-ocean-warming --- Cite as: Antarctic ice sheet mass loss anomaly. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/antarctic-ice-sheet-mass-loss-anomaly