Abstract We assess the impact of hydrometeor radiative effects on tropical and subtropical Pacific air temperature anomalies (TAA) using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) model simulations and satellite data. CMIP6 models are grouped by their treatment of frozen hydrometeors: SON2 (explicit cloud and falling ice), SON1 (simplified), and NOS (cloud ice only). Compared to SON2, SON1 and NOS produce upper‐tropospheric warm biases of 1–2K at 400–200 hPa. Explicit representation of falling ice in SON2 better captures a coupled cloud–radiation–circulation mechanism involving stronger wind stress, colder sea surface temperature, weaker convection in trade‐wind region, and reduced cloud‐radiation feedbacks, leading to improved simulated temperature structures. In contrast, simplified falling‐ice treatments in SON1 do not reproduce these improvements, highlighting the sensitivity of TAA to ice‐cloud radiative parameterizations. These findings emphasize the need for improved hydrometeor–radiation treatments in future climate models, to enhance climate projection reliability.