El Nino is back, heating up surface waters in the mid-Pacific after seven years in a naturally occurring climate pattern that experts warn may bring extreme weather from droughts to floods and record-breaking temperatures.
El Nino occurs when weak trade winds blowing west towards Asia fail to push warm surface waters in that direction, causing surface temperatures to rise by about 4-5 C in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
This prevents cooler, deeper waters to rise to the surface in that region, causing changes in weather patterns in other parts of the globe.
El Nino causes weather events such as heavy rains, floods, droughts, and forest fires.
The temperature of the surface waters undergoes abrupt changes as a result of the replacement of the cold waters by the warm surface waters flowing to the east from the Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific Ocean, Horn of Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America are among the regions that may be particularly impacted by the potentially extreme weather events.
Concerns are mounting around El Nino's possible effects, with commodity markets expected to be impacted and food supply chains disrupted.
El Nino is part of a natural climate pattern called the El Nino/Southern Oscillation.
Seven years ago, a notably intense El Nino event developed in the Pacific, leading to a series of dangerous changes in global weather patterns.
Indonesia experienced a severe drought that exacerbated devastating wildfires, while parts of the Horn of Africa were inundated by heavy rainfall, flooding villages, and agricultural areas.
This event also contributed to 2016 being recognized as the hottest year on record.
With El Nino having made its return this year, experts suggest that this will be another strong one, raising concerns of extreme weather in the coming months.
