Global warming forced scientists to change the way they look at El Niño
7 days ago
- #El Niño
- #Climate Science
- #Weather Forecasting
- El Niño occurs when tropical Pacific ocean temperatures spike above average, altering weather patterns.
- La Niña is the cooler counterpart to El Niño, both significantly impacting global weather.
- The traditional Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) measured El Niño by comparing temperatures in the Niño 3.4 region to 30-year averages.
- Global warming has made the ONI less effective by warming the entire tropical Pacific, masking El Niño anomalies.
- Scientists introduced the Relative Oceanic Niño Index (RONI), subtracting background warming to better detect El Niño/La Niña.
- RONI improves early detection of El Niño/La Niña, enhancing long-range weather forecasts.
- El Niño and La Niña are coupled phenomena, linking ocean temperature changes to atmospheric weather shifts.
- Human-caused climate change necessitated the shift from ONI to RONI for more accurate detection.
- The new index helps better predict the intensity and impacts of El Niño/La Niña events.
- Accurate prediction is crucial as these events cause extreme weather, affecting regions globally with floods, droughts, and altered hurricane seasons.