Climate phenomenon La Nina to blame for global extreme weather events

Climate phenomenon La Nina to blame for global extreme weather events


PhysOrg.com) -- Recent extreme weather events as far as Australia and Africa are being fueled by a climate phenomenon known as La Nina -- or "the girl" in Spanish. La Nina has also played a minor role in the recent cold weather in the Northeast U.S.


The term La Niña refers to a period of cooler-than-average sea-surface temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean that occurs as part of natural climate variability. This situation is roughly the opposite of what happens during El Niño (“the boy”) events, when surface waters in this region are warmer than normal. Because the Pacific is the largest ocean on the planet, any significant changes in average conditions there can have consequences for temperature, rainfall and vegetation in distant places.

Scientists at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), part of Columbia’s Earth Institute, expect moderate-to-strong La Niña conditions to continue in the tropical Pacific, potentially causing additional shifts in rainfall patterns across many parts of the world in months to come.

These shifts, combined with socioeconomic conditions and other factors, are making some countries more vulnerable. However, La Niña and El Niño conditions actually allow for more accurate seasonal forecasts and help better predict extreme drought or rainfall in some areas. That’s because they affect global atmospheric circulation patterns in known ways, and scientists can use this knowledge to help societies prepare better, issue early warnings and reduce any negative impacts associated with them.


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http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-climate-phenomenon-la-nina-blame.html

Yup. And it's a doozie this year.



that crazy "La Niña" has even got other planets changing color and heating up, a storm on Saturn that's about to run its entire latitude, and our magnetosphere on the fritz.


i tell ya, it's a good thing this stuff is all completely normal or I'd be starting to worry.

Lol .. this is nowhere near normal ... just the new normal:( Mother Nature has gone mental ...