- Professionals spot indications of the La Niña climate occurrence
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) predicts a 60% probability of the climate pattern La Niña showing up by year's end. This phenomenon typically leads to a cooling influence on the planet's climate.
Contrasting this is El Niño, which typically results in higher average temperatures. The WMO reported from Geneva that a prominent El Niño episode, peaking between November 2023 and January 2024, has passed, and a fresh one in 2023 is not anticipated.
Climate change persists
However, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo cautioned that while La Niña may offer some temporary cooling, it won't alter the overall upward trend of global temperatures due to human-induced climate change.
Ranging back to 2020, despite the cooling impact of La Niña, the nine preceding years have been the warmest ever recorded since the Industrial Revolution.
Impacts of El Niño and La Niña
El Niño corresponds to substantial heating of the upper ocean layers in the tropical Pacific along the mid- and south American coast, leading to altered wind patterns, warming of the stratosphere, and modified precipitation patterns.
Conversely, La Niña displays opposite signs. Both occurrences emerge at irregular intervals every few years, with La Niña concluding in 2023 in an atypically protracted three-year period, preceding El Niño.
The European Union, being a significant global player, is closely monitoring the climate predictions by the World Meteorological Organization. Despite the predicted La Niña offering temporary cooling, the European Union remains concerned about the long-term impact of human-induced climate change, as highlighted by the continuous upward trend in global temperatures.
