El Nino Expected to Break Records for Strength
A top expert at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) predicts that this year’s El Nino will be an extreme event, breaking records for its overall strength. Tim Stockdale said he has never seen such a strong and consistent forecast of an El Nino in his three decades of tracking the phenomenon.
El Nino Warms Central and Eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean
The weather phenomenon warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, leading to worldwide changes in winds, pressure, and rainfall patterns. It typically occurs every two to seven years and lasts around nine to 12 months.
Last El Nino Contributed to Second-Hottest Year on Record
Combined with human-induced climate change, the last El Nino contributed to making 2023 the second-hottest year on record and 2024 the all-time high. The weather phenomenon can lead to droughts in some parts of the world and flooding in others.