Inter-decadal Pacific Oscillation (Q723)

Subject, term, tag: Inter-decadal Pacific Oscillation

Inter-decadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO)

Language	Label	Description	Also known as
English	Inter-decadal Pacific Oscillation	Subject, term, tag: Inter-decadal Pacific Oscillation	Inter-decadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO)

Statements

Instance of

Category

source version

IPCC Glossary v1.5

1 reference

Source

https://apps.ipcc.ch/glossary/

date accessed

27 May 2026

Part of

Working Group I: Climate Change 2021 – The Physical Science Basis

0 references

Definition

An equatorially symmetric pattern of sea surface temperature variability at decadal-to-inter-decadal time scales. While the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and its South Pacific counterpart, the South Pacific Decadal Oscillation (SPDO), are considered as physically distinct modes, the tropical Pacific decadal–inter-decadal variability can drive both the PDO and SPDO, forming the IPO as a synchronized pan-Pacific variability. Its spatial pattern of sea surface temperature anomalies is similar to that of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), but with a broader meridional extent in the tropical signal and more weights in the extratropics compared to the tropics. In the AR6 WGI report, it is encapsulated within the definition and description of Pacific Decadal Variability (PDV). See also Section AIV.2.6 in Annex IV of the AR6 WGI report. (English)