The El Niño weather phenomenon, characterized by higher global temperatures, is said to have begun on Thursday, June 6, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It is expected to exacerbate the effects of global warming worldwide.
An expected El Nino climate phenomenon has arrived, raising fears of extreme weather and temperature records, scientists at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.
Marked by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator, the weather pattern last occurred in 2018-19, and takes place every 2-7 years on average.
Australia this week warned El Nino would deliver warmer, drier days to a country vulnerable to fierce bushfires, while Japan said a developing El Nino was partly responsible for its warmest spring on record.
Most of the warmest years on record have occurred during El Ninos, and scientists are concerned that this summer and next could see record temperatures on land and in the sea.
The phenomenon’s influence on the United States is weak during summer but more pronounced starting from late fall through spring, NOAA said in its statement.
This in turn would typically cause wetter than average conditions in some parts of the country, from southern California to the Gulf Coast, but drier than average conditions in the Pacific Northwest and Ohio Valley.
It also raises chances for warmer-than-average temperatures in northern parts of the country.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
