The End of El Niño Doesn’t Stop Climate Change: Extreme Weather and Disrupted Seasons Ahead”.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) of the United Nations (UN) has announced that El Nino, a weather phenomenon that raises ocean surface temperatures, has ended. However, this does not mean an end to global warming. The WMO warns that extreme weather events will become worse and seasonal temperature and rainfall patterns will be disrupted due to human-caused climate change.

La Nina is a lowering of ocean surface temperatures in large areas of the tropical Pacific, accompanied by wind, rain, and changes in air pressure. In many places, especially in the tropics, La Nina brings the opposite climatic effects of El Nino, leading to drought in some places and heavy rain in others. There is a 60% chance that La Nina will occur in the July-September period and a 70% chance in August-November.

The possibility of El Nino redeveloping is very low. Every month since June 2023, when El Nino occurred, has set a new high temperature record. Up to now, 2023 is also the warmest year ever recorded globally. “The end of El Niño does not mean that long-term climate change will stop,” emphasized Ko Barrett, deputy secretary-general at WMO. Much of the Earth’s excess heat due to climate change is stored in the oceans.

In the US, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) took La Nina into account when forecasting this year’s Atlantic hurricane season. According to NOAA, 4-7 strong hurricanes are expected in the Atlantic from June to November. The upcoming Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be more active than usual due to a combination of factors including near-record warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic and development of La Nina phenomenon in Pacific trade winds decreased wind shear and other conditions favorable for storm formation.”