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El Niño is a natural phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean that occurs every two to seven years. He alternates with his counterpart, a La Nina . One El Nino brings extra heat into the air from the ocean. This causes temporary additional global warming, in addition to structural warming as a result of increasing human greenhouse gas emissions. An El Niño also influences weather patterns.
La Niña is the counterpart to relatively cold water.
In a La Niña, the sea water temperatures in a part of the Pacific Ocean near the equator are lower than average. A stronger trade wind brings more cold water from the deep ocean to the surface. La Niña is the opposite of El Niño. At an El Niño, the temperature of sea water in the Pacific Ocean actually heats up.
Areas such as Australia, Indonesia, the Middle East and South Africa will face additional drought. In the Horn of Africa, the southern US, Mexico and parts of South America, among others, there is usually much more rainfall. In Europe, the effects are small. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ), the United Nations Meteorological Office, warned on May 3 that the world should prepare for an El Niño.
Goodbye La Niña, Hello El Niño
Weather patterns are changing, with major consequences for the global economy. The La Niña weather pattern, responsible for cooler-than-normal sea water temperatures along the Pacific equator, disappeared last fall. Instead, an El Niño forms, characterized by warmer than normal water temperatures.
