"It's Quite Extreme": El Niño Heads Toward Historically Strong Levels
· Telemundo McAllen (KTLM)
El Niño, the climate phenomenon that releases heat and causes a sharp increase in global temperatures, is on track to reach historically strong levels, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported on Thursday. In its monthly update, NOAA indicated that this year's El Niño, a natural warming of the equatorial Pacific that disrupts weather patterns worldwide, has an 81% chance of becoming "very strong"—the highest category available—by fall. It is expected to rank among the most intense El Niños since the agency began recording them in 1950. Its most significant impacts—from droughts to heavy rainfall and heatwaves—are likely to be felt more acutely in the fall and winter, meteorologists noted. This El Niño, which formed just last month, has quickly surpassed the weak phase and is now considered moderate, with no signs of its strengthening slowing down, according to government forecasts. Ocean temperatures in parts of the Pacific that help indicate the strength of El Niño are at or near record highs for this time of year, partly due to the added ocean warming caused by human-induced climate change, meteorologists said. "It's quite extreme," said Emily Becker, a scientist at the University of Miami working with NOAA's El Niño team. "It's not unprecedented, but it is very unusual." Becker noted that it will rival the El Niño of 1997-1998, while other meteorologists predict that this one could be even stronger. The World Bank reported that the El Niño that began in 1997 caused 23,000 deaths from weather-related disasters, increased poverty rates in some countries, and cost governments up to $45 billion.
AI summary · Source: Telemundo McAllen (KTLM) →
