Scandinavia forms an exception, as the summer precipitation is not changing here (Fig.  10 a and Table  1 ), although locally a decrease is noted on the 0 –9 k-anomaly map (Norwegian coast, Fig.  9 ).

In the other regions, the reductions in summer precipitation over 9 kyr are much more substantial (29, 7 and 17% for North America, Greenland and northern Eurasia, respectively, Fig.  10 b–d and Table  1 ).

The model experiment has not captured this marked decrease in precipitation (Fig.  10 a), although a reduction is simulated in Northern Scandinavia (Fig.  9 ).

Our model produced a long-term cooling of ~1.5°C (Figs.  4 c, 8 b) and a precipitation reduction (Fig.  10 d) that agrees well with this paleoclimatic evidence.

A comparison of the maps showing precipitation anomalies (Fig.  8 ) and sea-ice changes (Fig.  10 ), shows that the maximum precipitation reduction (40–60 mm month ^-1 ) is found in Northern Canada close to the region with maximum expansion in sea-ice cover (up to +60%) during summer and autumn.