El Nino is back – and it could be ‘one for the history books’
The weather event – which can bring droughts, floods and record temperatures – has officially arrived, and could grow to peak strength
The phenomenon El Nino has arrived, the US weather agency said on Thursday, and scientists expect the pattern synonymous with droughts, floods and soaring temperatures will intensify into the end of the year, potentially to historic strength.
El Nino is a natural climate occurrence that warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds and rainfall patterns and erratic weather.
Scientists fear it will exacerbate the heat of a planet already warming from burning fossil fuels, while amping up weather extremes.
“El Nino is here, and it could be one for the history books,” said meteorologist Haley Thiem in an explainer video from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In its latest advisory, scientists at NOAA said there is a 63 per cent chance “of a very strong El Nino during November-January that would rank among the largest El Nino events in the historical record going back to 1950”.
Every El Nino is different, but major events often follow familiar patterns. This includes drought across parts of the Amazon, Indonesia and Australia, disrupted monsoons in India, and shifting rainfall throughout the tropics.