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Disruptive La Nina Weather Phenomenon Looming
Geneva (AFP) March 30, 2007 The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Friday that a disruptive La Nina weather pattern in the Pacific basin was looming this year but might not take shape for another two to three months. La Nina, effectively a drop in sea surface temperatures off the western coast of South America, can cause havoc with weather patterns in many parts of the globe. "There is a definite indication of La Nina, but the timing is not clear," WMO scientist Rupa Kumar Kolli told journalists The Geneva-based WMO said in an report that it had started to detect first signs of a shift in February, with a drop in eastern Pacific sea temperatures to below normal, although surface winds were staying the same. It said the chances of it developing within two to three months were "weak." Previous La Nina's have been associated with drier weather in the southern United States and western Latin America, and above-average rainfall to Australia and South East Asia. But there can also be a knock-on much further afield, with an increase to monsoon rainfall in the Indian subcontinent, and cold weather in tropical West Africa, Southeast Africa, Japan and the Korean peninsula. The shift follows the dissipation of the notorious El Nino, a warming of Pacific sea surface temperatures that was blamed for a lengthy drought in Australia, flooding in the Horn of Africa and Bolivia, and more severe winter monsoons in South Asia for much of the past year.
Source: Agence France-Presse Related Links Learn about Climate Science at TerraDaily.com Water News - Science, Technology and Politics
Pacific Shows Signs of Morphing From Warm El Nino To Cool La Nina
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 08, 2007New data of sea-level heights from early February, 2007, by the Jason altimetric satellite show that the tropical Pacific Ocean has transitioned from a warm (El Nino) to a cool (La Nina) condition during the prior two months. The beginnings of a possible La Nina are indicated by the blue area (in the center of the image along the equator) of lower than normal sea level (cold water). |
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