Nino | Pakistan

The current El Nino weather phenomenon is expected to break records for its overall strength, a top expert said Tuesday, as regions face the risk of droughts, floods and other extremes linked to the event. El Nino warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns. It typically takes place every two to seven years and lasts around nine to 12 months, and it can lead to droughts in some parts of the world and flooding in others. This year’s El Nino is unlike anything seen in more than three decades of tracking the phenomenon, with forecast models pointing to an “extreme” event, said Tim Stockdale, an El Nino expert at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), an intergovernmental organisation. “I think it’s absolutely true to say we’ve never had a forecast of an El Nino that was so strong and so consistent across (forecast) models,” he said in a media briefing. Stockdale said it would be “a ver...

The weather phenomenon El Nino has arrived, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Thursday, and scientists expect it will intensify into the end of the year, potentially to historic strength. El Nino is a natural climate phenomenon that warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, rainfall patterns and erratic weather. And scientists fear it will exacerbate the heat of a planet already warming from burning fossil fuels, while amping up weather extremes. In its latest advisory NOAA scientists said “El Nino conditions developed over the past month” as shown by those above-average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific. “There is a 63 per cent chance of a very strong El Nino during November-January that would rank among the largest El Nino events in the historical record going back to 1950,” the advisory read. Every El Nino is different, but major events often follow familiar patterns. This includes drought acro...

The warming El Nino weather phenomenon, which pushed global temperatures to record highs the last time around, is expected back in the middle of this year, the UN said Friday. The United Nations’ weather and climate agency said El Nino conditions were likely as early as the May to July three-month window. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) meanwhile said early signs indicated a strong event. El Nino is a naturally-occurring climate phenomenon that warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It brings changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns. Conditions oscillate between El Nino and its opposite La Nina, with neutral conditions in between. The last El Nino contributed to making 2023 the second-hottest year on record and 2024 the all-time high. “After a period of neutral conditions at the start of the year… there is high confidence in the onset of El Nino, followed by further intensification,” said Wilfran Moufouma Okia, the WMO’s climate prediction chief. “M...