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Temperatures are expected to soar further across large parts of the world after the El Ni o weather pattern emerged.El Ni o is linked to extreme weather conditions, from tropical cyclones to heavy rainfall to severe droughts.The World Meteorological Organization says El Ni o is expected to be "at least of moderate strength".For climate change news and analysis, go to News24 Climate Future. Temperatures are expected to soar further across large parts of the world after the El Ni o weather pattern emerged in the tropical Pacific for the first time in seven years, the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday. El Ni o, a warming of water surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, is linked to extreme weather conditions from tropical cyclones to heavy rainfall to severe droughts. "The onset of El Ni o will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean," WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement.
WMO said there was a 90% probability of El Ni o persisting in the second half of 2023, and that it was expected to be "at least of moderate strength". The statement from the global body confirmed a report last month from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center that the phenomenon had returned. The WMO noted that El Ni o's effect on global temperatures is usually felt most strongly within a year of its onset - in this case in 2024. READ | El Ni o arrives, raising extreme weather fears
Since 2020, the world has been affected by an exceptionally long La Ni a - El Ni o's cooling opposite - which ended earlier this year. And yet, the UN has said the last eight years were the warmest ever recorded, despite La Ni a's cooling effect stretching over nearly half that period. Without that weather phenomenon, the warming could have been even worse. "The declaration of an El Ni o by WMO is the signal to governments around the world to mobilise preparations to limit the impacts on our health, our ecosystems and our economies," said Taalas. "Early warnings and anticipatory action of extreme weather events associated with this major climate phenomenon are vital to save lives and livelihoods." The world's hottest year on record, 2016, coincided with a strong El Ni o - though experts says climate change has fuelled extreme temperatures even in years without the phenomenon. Even that record could soon be broken, according to the WMO.
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