You might be wondering what El Nino and La Nina is. Let’s understand this together in detail.
The terms El Nino and La Nina are Spanish origin words, meaning “boy child” and “little girl” respectively.
What is El Nino?
Phenomenon causing rise in temperature at sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific which weakens the normal east winds further leads to more hurricanes in the eastern and central Pacific. Followed with disrupted monsoons and droughts.
What is La Nina?
Phenomenon causing fall in temperature of sea surface in equatorial Pacific region. Drop in temperature create stronger than normal east winds associated with more hurricanes in the Atlantic. This can lead to untimely rainfall in Indian terrain and above average rainfall, during monsoon season.
Warmer or colder than average ocean temperatures in one part of the world can influence weather around the globe. Video credit to Ocean Today Click to watch the video.
What is ENSO cycle?
Shifts in weather conditions back and forth irregularly every two to seven years, that disrupts normal wind and rainfall patterns across the tropics and impacts global weather, climate, and ocean conditions and impacts food production, human health, and water supply.
How does El Niño affect weather?
The rise in usual sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean disrupts typical wind patterns that leads to change in rainfall distribution globally. This disruption results in heavy rainfall in some regions and drought in other, which further cause in temperature shift depending on location, the effect is felt Globally.
How does La Niña affect weather?
La Niña produces the opposite large-scale climate impacts compared to El Niño. The fall in usual sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean disrupts typical wind patterns that leads to change in rainfall distribution globally. This disruption results in heavy rainfall in some regions and drought in other, which further cause in temperature shift depending on location, the effect is felt Globally.
Countries that are most affected by El Nino:
Asia
- Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines: Experience higher than normal rainfall
- India: Usually experiences dryness and drought
Africa
- Southern Africa: Experiences wetter than normal conditions
- Equatorial east Africa: Experiences drier than normal conditions
South America
- Peru and Ecuador: Experience heavy rainfall that leads to flooding and landslides
- Chile: Frequently affected by severe drought
North and Central America
- Southern United States and Mexico: Experience increased rainfall and flooding
- Caribbean: Experiences a more active hurricane season
Other regions
- Australia: Experiences extreme drought that frequently results in forest fires
- Central Asia: Experiences reduced rainfall
- Horn of Africa: Experiences increased rainfall that often leads to flooding
Countries that are most affected by El Nino:
- Australia: Can see increased rainfall and flooding in certain regions
- Southeast Asia: Often sees increased rainfall and flooding during La Niña events.
- Pacific Islands: Some islands experience drier conditions while others face heavier rainfall depending on location.
- South America: Peru and Ecuador can experience droughts while parts of Brazil experience increased rain.
How often does La Niña and El Nino occur?
The studies show that it occurs every 2-7 years and lasts up to 9-12 month, sometimes can extend for years. El Niño tends to occur slightly more frequently than La Niña.
