The La Niña phenomenon would record its first "triple episode" of the century this year

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently warned that there is a 70% chance that the current episode of the La Niña phenomenon will last until at least the end of the year, which would make it the first “triple episode” recorded in this century, by reaching three consecutive boreal winters.

WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas highlighted the exceptionality of a La Niña episode spanning three years, noting that while its cooling effect temporarily slows the rise in global temperatures, “it will not stop or reverse the trend. to long-term warming.

In this sense, the agency pointed out that despite the persistence of the La Niña episode in the central and eastern parts of the equatorial Pacific, it is expected that sea surface temperatures above average will be imposed in the rest of the world in a generalized way. , contributing to the temperatures of land areas also exceeding normal, especially in the northern hemisphere.

In its specialized bulletin on the phenomenon, the agency explained that the conditions that have allowed the establishment of a La Niña episode in the tropical Pacific since September 2020 have been reinforced due to the intensification of the trade winds between July and August of this year.

However, he clarified that the high percentage of probabilities that La Niña will continue will decrease to 55% from December to January.

Family displaced by drought in the Horn of Africa. (Photo: UNFPA Ethiopia / Paula Seijo)

Exacerbation of drought and floods

The WMO pointed out that the phenomenon has had an effect on temperatures and precipitation, exacerbating both drought and flooding in different parts of the planet.

The head of the UN body indicated that in the cases of the Horn of Africa and the southern part of South America, the worsening of the drought has the seal of La Niña, as well as the above-average rainfall observed in Southeast Asia. and Australasian.

“Unfortunately, the most recent data on La Niña confirm regional climate projections that pointed to a worsening of the devastating drought in the Horn of Africa, the consequences of which will affect millions of people,” Taalas lamented.

Support to the humanitarian community

In this sense, he assured that the UN agency will continue to disseminate information to the humanitarian community and that it will support work in the areas of agriculture, food security, health and disaster risk reduction.

“WMO is also working to make early warning systems accessible to all people within the next five years to protect them from weather, climate and water-related hazards,” he said.

La Niña is a phenomenon that cools the surface waters of the central and eastern parts of the equatorial Pacific on a large scale, in addition to producing other changes in the tropical atmospheric circulation, such as in winds, pressure and precipitation. Generally, its effects on weather and climate are opposite to those of El Niño, which results in a warm phase.

El Niño and La Niña are important determinants of the Earth’s climate system, but they are not the only ones.

effect of humanity

The WMO stressed that all naturally occurring climate events now occur in the context of human-induced climate change, accelerating the rise in global temperatures, intensifying extreme weather and climate events, and altering the configuration of seasonal temperatures and rainfall. (Font: UN News)