Exit El Niño, enter la Niña
Officials from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology and the USA’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have declared that a brief El Niño weather pattern that started last year is over, and evidence is mounting of a shift to La Niña weather patterns.
El Niño – a climate phenomenon that affects the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, disrupting the weather conditions of the USA, Australia and South America – occurs at irregular intervals of between two and seven years. This latest episode has been blamed for causing or exacerbating droughts in Australia and Colombia, a reduction in Atlantic hurricane activity, flooding in Bolivia and more.
The news that meteorologists are seeing a shift to La Niña, which brings opposite weather conditions to those associated with El Niño, is being met with a mixed reception. Central East Africa, the southern USA and parts of South America can expect drier conditions, while residents of north and northeastern Australia will be hoping that the shift brings rain.
The last El Niño event occurred during 1997–98 and according to Dr Mark Saunders from UCL’s Department of Space and Climate Physics, caused 2,000 deaths and an estimated £20billion worth of damage worldwide.
El Niño – a climate phenomenon that affects the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, disrupting the weather conditions of the USA, Australia and South America – occurs at irregular intervals of between two and seven years. This latest episode has been blamed for causing or exacerbating droughts in Australia and Colombia, a reduction in Atlantic hurricane activity, flooding in Bolivia and more.
The news that meteorologists are seeing a shift to La Niña, which brings opposite weather conditions to those associated with El Niño, is being met with a mixed reception. Central East Africa, the southern USA and parts of South America can expect drier conditions, while residents of north and northeastern Australia will be hoping that the shift brings rain.
The last El Niño event occurred during 1997–98 and according to Dr Mark Saunders from UCL’s Department of Space and Climate Physics, caused 2,000 deaths and an estimated £20billion worth of damage worldwide.
|
FIND OUT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ON TWITTER:
| |
 |
