Global warming to drive more extreme weather through multi-year La Ninas, climate scientists say
- International study says warmer climate will increase efficiency of weather patterns, leading to longer spans of severe rainfall, flooding
- Researchers call for cuts to greenhouse gas emissions to ease ‘adverse impacts’ of extreme weather
Extreme weather events such as wildfires and floods could become regular occurrences as global warming shifts established weather patterns, according to research by scientists in China, the United States and Australia.
During warm El Nino events, the sea-surface temperature increases, while during cold La Nina events, the temperature falls. La Nina can affect patterns of monsoons and tropical cyclones, as well as increase occurrences of flooding and wildfires.
El Nino events typically peak within a year and cause large heat discharges in the upper-ocean of the equatorial Pacific. The La Nina events that tend to follow initiate a regenerative process, but as the recharge is typically weaker than the discharge, the events can last for two years or longer, according to the paper.
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Future changes to multi-year La Nina events in response to global warming largely remained unknown, the researchers said in their paper.