Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) is the phenomenon of rapid rise in temperature in the stratosphere for a few days time. The SSW is the result of the planetary wave interactions on the polar vortex that weakens the vortex and eventually giving rise to a vortex split or a displacement of the vortex to mid latitudes. There are two major types of SSW, a major warming and minor warming. Major warming events are distingushed by the reversal of the westerly winds. The weaker nature of the Arctic vortex in comparison to Antarctic makes Arctic more vulnerbale to SSW events.

The SSWs are studied from the changes in the meteorology of the winters and the changes in the potential vorticity (PV). The vortex splits and displacements are identified using the PV maps. Apart from these the SSW events became significant in the polar latitudes due to its direct impact on the changes in ozone depletion cycles. The ozone loss amount in the years corresponding to both major and minor warming were significantly lower than the cold winters.