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Geneva (German news agency) – The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) expects that El Nio will probably develop again later in the year. The weather phenomenon associated with warming sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific would lead to higher global temperatures, experts say.
“We have just experienced the eight warmest years on record, although over the past three years we have had a cooling La Nia that has temporarily slowed global temperature rise,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. The development of an El Nio will most likely lead to a new high in global warming and increase the likelihood that temperature records will be broken. “The world should prepare for the development of an El Nio, which is often associated with increased heat, drought or precipitation in different parts of the world. It could provide respite from the Horn of Africa drought and other La Nia-related effects but could also trigger other extreme weather and climate events,” says Taalas.
According to the WMO, an El Nio could lead to severe droughts in Australia, Indonesia and parts of South Asia and increase cyclone formation in the central and eastern Pacific.
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