AGENCIES

June 16: Scientists at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have warned that an expected El Nino climate phenomenon has arrived, raising fears of extreme weather and temperature records this year.

According to the BBC, experts say it will likely make 2024 the world's hottest year.

“They fear it will help push the world past a key 1.5C warming milestone,” the BBC wrote in a recent news report.

Meanwhile, the AFP reported that this pattern, marked by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator, last occurred in 2018-19, and takes place every 2-7 years on average

"Depending on its strength, El Nino can cause a range of impacts, such as increasing the risk of heavy rainfall and droughts in certain locations around the world," AFP quoted NOAA climate scientist Michelle L'Heureux as saying.

According to L'Heureux, climate change can exacerbate or mitigate certain impacts related to El Nino. “For example, El Nino could lead to new records for temperatures, particularly in areas that already experience above-average temperatures during El Nino," she added.

Australia this week warned El Nino would deliver warmer, drier days to a country vulnerable to fierce bushfires, while Japan said a developing El Nino was partly responsible for its warmest spring on record.

Most of the warmest years on record have occurred during El Ninos, and scientists are concerned that this summer and next could see record temperatures on land and in the sea, added AFP.

The phenomenon's influence on the United States is weak during summer but more pronounced starting from late fall through spring, NOAA said in its statement. By winter, it is estimated there is an 84 percent chance of a "greater than moderate" El Nino developing, and a 56 percent chance of a strong El Nino.

According to the BBC, an El Niño event is typically declared when sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise to at least 0.5C above the long-term average.

El Nino, meaning "Little Boy" in Spanish, is the warm phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, AFP reported, adding, La Nina, meaning "Little Girl," is its colder counterpart, where sea surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean near the equator are lower than normal.