(ORDO NEWS) — The natural phenomenon of El Niño, known for its warming effect, may replace the opposite phenomenon of La Niña in the coming months.
This was reported by the official representative of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Claire Nullis, stressing that the arrival of El Niño will not necessarily cause summer heat.
“It’s not easy to predict that the summer will be hot,” she said, explaining that it depends on the specific area of the planet, as well as other factors.
El Niño, known for its warming effect, could emerge “in the coming months after three consecutive years of unusually persistent and prolonged La Niña events that have affected temperatures and rainfall patterns around the world,” according to WMO, a specialized agency of the United Nations.
WMO experts emphasize that the arrival of El Niño will be preceded by a period of “neutral conditions during March-May with a probability of 90%”. For April-June, the probability is estimated at 60%.
“If we now enter the El Niño phase, it will probably cause another spike in global temperatures,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
The organization recalled that currently 2016 is the warmest year on record for weather and climate.
This record was set due to “a combination of El Niño and climate change.” There is a 93 percent chance that at least one year before 2026 will be the warmest year on record.
The organization recalled that the current La Niña phenomenon has been going on since September 2020.
It is associated with “widespread cooling of surface water temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific along with changes in tropical atmospheric circulation, in particular winds, pressure and rainfall.”
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