The warm, inverse phenomenon called El Niño will affect the world.
The La Niña phenomenon is characterized by a cooling of ocean temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, the current episode began in September 2020, and managed to mitigate some of the global warming.
However, 2021 and 2022, were the warmest years on record since 2015, warned the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), in its quarterly update.
“The cooling caused by the long La Niña episode temporarily held back the rise in global temperatures , despite the fact that the period of the last eight years was the warmest ever recorded.” Said WMO Secretary Petter Tabbs.
The UN agency warned, however, that although La Niña is coming to an end, there is a high probability that the reverse warm phenomenon, called El Niño, is likely to repeat another spike in global temperatures,” he added.
The probabilities of the El Niño phenomenon forming during the first half of the year are low (15%, in April-June), although they would increase progressively between May and July (up to 35%). And they would increase notably between July and August (55%), according to the WMO.
Monitoring the oscillation between the two phases helps countries to prepare for possible impacts, such as floods, droughts, or extreme heat”. Said Álvaro Silva, a consultant for the organization.
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