The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) today officially declared the El Niño phenomenon after confirming that for the first time in seven years they have been detected in the Pacific Ocean tropical conditions that will most likely cause increased temperatures and weather disturbances this year.
“El Niño will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking new temperature records and unleashing more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean,” warned WMO Secretary General and meteorologist, Petteri Taalas.
Thus, the rise in temperatures will occur above all in the next three months and will persist until the end of 2023, with an intensity that “will be at least moderate”, but it is not ruled out that it could be a freak severe.
The meteorologist and specialist in El Niño at the WMO, Wilfran Moufouma, indicated that among the alterations that are predicted are dry conditions of Australia, America and, specifically, of South America.
The WMO recalled that this is the first time since the 2015-2016 period that the scientific community agrees that the world is facing a phenomenon of The boy and that this declaration is “the signal for governments around the world to start preparations to curb the consequences of this phenomenon on our health, ecosystems and economies.”
The El Niño of that period coincided with the fact that 2016 It was the hottest year globally on record.
The conditions of the El Niño phenomenon observed between 2018-2019 did not meet all the characteristics expected of this weather event at a global level and scientists did not reach an agreement to declare that it was El Niño, explained Moufouma at a press conference in Geneva
Faced with this situation, the WMO has stressed the importance of proper functioning of early warning systems, which can “save lives and livelihoods.”
“This is another wake-up call or an early warning that we are still not moving in the right direction to limit warming in line with the final targets set in 2015, in the Paris Agreement In order to reduce the impacts of climate change“, said the body, which functions as the scientific arm of the UN.
The El Niño weather pattern typically occurs every two to seven years and typically lasts nine to twelve months, during which time there is a gradual warming of the Pacific Ocean that causes intense rains in certain regions of the world and droughts in others.
Between February and May 2023, the surface in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean experienced a significant rise in temperatures, going from -0.44 to +0.47 degrees Celsius.
The Meteorological Services e Hidráulicos Nacionales have committed to the WMO to closely follow the evolution of El Niño conditions and the consequences that may derive from it.
Reference-aristeguinoticias.com
