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A simple reason why this is so - cloud cover See the cloud cover over the equator (present all year round). Keeps air below cooler and above warmer. The opposite is true in the Northern latitudes - cloud cover keeps air warmer below and cooler above. So less climate warming in the tropics.

How does this reflect (is that even the right word?) the changes in atmospheric circulation?

On this page (zacklabe.com/climate-chan...), I plot the corresponding zonal mean trends in geopotential heights and zonal winds, which reflect large-scale changes in the mean circulation.

Thanks! I must admit it's hard for me to grasp what implications those changes might have.

A really interesting plot! Is it similar for the southern hemisphere? The very thin line of zero change, has it moved over the same period?

Yep, I have that one on my website too (zacklabe.com/climate-chan...)