Metereological Conditions - El Niño is nearing its conclusion, and La Niña may soon follow.
A report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) suggests that El Niño, the cause of unusually hot temperatures in certain areas, will soon come to an end. In its place, La Niña conditions are likely to emerge from August to November, the WMO has announced.
La Niña is known for cooler surface waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator. Unlike El Niño, its effects are more prominent in the tropics and subtropics than in places like Europe. In several regions, La Niña has caused the opposite weather outcomes of El Niño to occur, as mentioned by the WMO.
The conclusion of El Niño doesn't signal an end to overall climate change, as the world will still be getting hotter due to greenhouse gases trapping heat, the WMO explained. "Our weather will become even more extreme because of the extra heat and moisture in our atmosphere," said Ko Barrett, the WMO's deputy secretary-general. On the onset of La Niña, regions like the extreme northern part of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and East Africa can expect a substantial increase in rainfall.
The peak of El Niño occurred in December, the WMO stated. It involves the warming of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. This has global repercussions, both in terms of temperature and as a contributor to weather extremes. El Niño occurs naturally approximately every two to seven years. 2023, in terms of average global temperature, was by far the hottest year since the Industrial Revolution. Thanks to El Niño, which evolved in June 2023, a record temperature was recorded for each month since then.
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- Despite the approaching end of El Niño, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that the world's climate is still changing, with increasing heat and moisture leading to more extreme weather conditions.
- The ongoing global climate change is independent of the conclusion of El Niño, as explained by Ko Barrett, the WMO's deputy secretary-general, who emphasized that our weather will become even more extreme due to the extra heat and moisture in our atmosphere.
- In contrast to El Niño, which primarily affects areas like Europe with warmer temperatures, La Niña conditions, likely to emerge in the Pacific after El Niño, are expected to bring eastern Pacific Ocean cooler surface waters and significant rainfall increases to regions such as the extreme northern part of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and East Africa.
- The World Weather Organization (WMO) monitors weather patterns and climate changes internationally, including the Pacific Ocean's El Niño and La Niña phenomena, which have impacts on global temperatures and weather extremes, as demonstrated in the current and past years.
