A weather phenomenon is about to make a comeback. Around the world, many climate models warn of a potential return of El Niño for the end of 2023. As reported by the Huffington Post, the latest update from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) explains that the phenomenon has now 50% chance of developing before 2024.
It is a disruption of the climate system that manifests itself in a warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean. “In some years, a wind anomaly in the western Pacific slows the trade winds [winds from the east] and pulls the warm surface water from the west to the east, which will reduce the difference in temperatures between East and West, reduce the trade winds even more and ensure that even more warm water moves and rises”, explains Eric Guilyardi, oceanographer at the CNRS and president of the Office for Climate Education , in the columns of Ouest France.
As a result, the overall air temperature can increase up to sometimes 3 or 4 degrees. This climatic phenomenon is natural and generally returns every 3 to 7 years. It opposes another, less violent, the Niña which, conversely, accentuates the trade winds and causes a rise in cold waters.
If El Niño affects the whole world, some regions are much more affected than others. In Europe and in France, the consequences therefore remain minimal and, as Eric Guilyardi explains to our colleagues, “it is not because we have an El Niño phenomenon that it will necessarily be warmer in France”. However, some overseas territories could be exposed.
Discover in our slideshow the list of consequences that El Niño could have around the world.
