El Niño Extends Grip: UN Predicts Prolonged Impact Until April
The United Nations forecasts that the El Nino weather phenomenon, which causes elevated global temperatures, will persist until at least April 2024. This information was released on Wednesday.
El Nino is a naturally transpiring climatic phenomenon that is commonly linked to elevated global temperatures, in addition to drought in certain regions and torrential precipitation in others.
The World Meteorological Organization of the United Nations predicted that the current El Nino, which swiftly developed in July and August of this year, would likely reach its peak between now and January.
“There is a 90-percent likelihood it will persist throughout the upcoming northern hemisphere winter/southern hemisphere summer,” it said in its latest update, adding that it was expected to last until at least April.
Typically, the meteorological phenomenon manifests itself every two to seven years, and in the year following its emergence, global temperatures rise.
However, although the majority of El Nino’s effects are not anticipated to be felt until 2024, the WMO emphasized that the phenomenon was taking place in the context of accelerating climate change.
At present, the warmest year ever documented occurred in 2016, which followed the development of an exceptionally powerful El Nino. Nevertheless, global temperatures are on pace to surpass that record.
“As a result of record high land and sea-surface temperatures since June, the year 2023 is now on track to be the warmest year on record,” WMO chief Petteri Taalas said in the statement, warning that “next year maybe even warmer”.
“This is clearly and unequivocally due to the contribution of the increasing concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases from human activities,” he said.
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“Extreme events such as heatwaves, drought, wildfires, heavy rain, and floods will be enhanced in some regions, with major impacts,” he cautioned, stressing the importance of efficient early warning systems.
The last occurrence of El Nino was in 2018-2019, and it was succeeded by La Nina, El Nino’s chilling opposite, which lasted an exceptionally long time and ended earlier this year.
Recent El Nino impact forecasts, according to the WMO, indicate a strong probability of sustained warming in the central-eastern equatorial Pacific through April of next year.
In addition to above-average sea surface temperatures in the majority of the world’s oceans, nearly all land areas are also anticipated to experience above-average temperatures, the report said.
Additional consequences are probable, such as greater-than-usual precipitation in certain areas of central and eastern Asia, the Horn of Africa, and the La Plata basin in South America and southeastern North America, respectively.
The northern regions of South America, a significant portion of Australia, and the Pacific islands are anticipated to experience reduced precipitation.
El Niño Extends Grip: UN Predicts Prolonged Impact Until April