How did El Nino start?
El Niño occurs when warm water builds up along the equator in the eastern Pacific. The warm ocean surface warms the atmosphere, which allows moisture-rich air to rise and develop into rainstorms. The clearest example of El Niño in this series of images is 1997.
What is the main cause of El Nino?
El Nino is essentially caused by the interaction between the surface layers of the tropical Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere over it. The water is warmer due to the trade winds reversing direction or becoming less intense. In contrast El Nino can also bring flooding and heavy rainfall in other areas.
When did El Nino start?
1986
How does this interaction cause El Niño?
Why El Niño Happens El Niño conditions are caused by a weakening of the trade winds. Under normal circumstances, the trades drive surface waters towards the west; but when these die down, they allow the warmer waters of the western Pacific to seep eastward toward the Americas.
How is the economy affected by El Nino?
While economic impacts tend to cancel each other out at the national level, El Nino does cause real economic losses such as storm damage or crop losses, which are not offset by gains elsewhere. These are losses that can’t be prevented or reduced by a better forecast or mitigation.
Is La Nina a natural hazard?
El Niño and La Niña events are natural occurrences in the global climate system resulting from variations in ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific. In turn, changes in the atmosphere impact the ocean temperatures and currents.
What are the signs of La Nina?
Watching out for events The first signs of an emerging El Niño or La Niña event are often observed in the ocean. The Bureau of Meteorology monitors and reports on a range of ENSO indicators, including: short-term bursts of tropical rainfall activity. water temperatures at the sea surface and at depth.
Will El Nino return in 2020?
The next expected El Nino, due to peak in late 2020, could push global average annual temperature rise to a new record in 2021, the researchers said. Air temperature rise lags Pacific warming by about three months, they noted.