Abstract The land–sea thermal contrast is one of the original drivers of the Earth’s climate system and has undergone significant changes in the recent period. However, the seasonality and geographic profile of these changes remain unclear. Here, we reveal an anthropogenic‐forced seasonal change in the land–sea thermal contrast by analyzing the evolution of its temperature annual cycle (TACL–S). We find a significant reduction in TACL–S in the northern mid‐latitudes, dominated by stronger winter land warming, alongside an increase in the northern high latitudes, dominated by stronger winter sea warming, during 1941–2014. In particular, these anthropogenic changes are projected to intensify in 2015–2100, with an additional emergence of TACL–S increases dominated by summer land warming in the southern mid‐latitudes. Thus, a future tripolar pattern of TACL–S heralds novel land–sea climate regimes with far‐reaching climatic impacts.

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