UN declares onset of El Nino, says it'll break temperature records

The United Nations (UN) on Tuesday (July 4) declared the onset of the El Nino weather phenomenon. The agency has said that El Nino, which triggers higher temperatures across the world, will continue throughout 2023. The UN has said that the phenomenon will be "at least of moderate strength". El Nino, the weather pattern, occurs naturally and is mostly associated with increased heat globally as well as drought in some parts of the world. In some other parts, it causes heavy rains.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on June 8 that El Nino had arrived. NOAA said that El Nino "could lead to new records for temperatures".

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NOAA feeds information into the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The WMO, on its part, declared the onset of El Nino conditions on Tuesday. It said that there was a 90 per cent probability that the phenomenon will continue during the second half of 2023.

Record-breaking temperatures likely

"It is expected to be at least of moderate strength," the WMO said, noting that El Nino's effect on global temperatures is usually felt most strongly within a year of its onset -- in this case in 2024.

"The onset of El Nino will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean," said WMO secretary-general Petteri Taalas.

The world has been affected by an exceptionally long La Nina since 2020. It is El Nino's cooling opposite. La Nina ended earlier this year.

And yet, the UN has said the last eight years were the warmest ever recorded, despite La Nina's cooling effect stretching over nearly half that period.

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Without that weather phenomenon, the warming could have been even worse.

"The declaration of an El Nino by WMO is the signal to governments around the world to mobilise preparations to limit the impacts on our health, our ecosystems and our economies," said Taalas.

"Early warnings and anticipatory action of extreme weather events associated with this major climate phenomenon are vital to save lives and livelihoods."

(With inputs from agencies)

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