{"id":7611,"date":"2026-02-01T11:41:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T06:11:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=7611"},"modified":"2026-02-01T13:19:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T07:49:38","slug":"el-nino-la-nina-weather-patterns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/el-nino-la-nina-weather-patterns\/","title":{"rendered":"El Ni\u00f1o-La Ni\u00f1a Weather Patterns"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>El Nino Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a chance that the El Nino phenomenon may occur after July this year, but clarity will only emerge in April, according to the director-general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Normal Climatic Conditions<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In &#8220;neutral&#8221; conditions, <\/span><b>surface water in the Pacific Ocean <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is <\/span><b>cooler in the east<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>warmer in the west.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The &#8220;<\/span><b>trade winds<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8221; tend to <\/span><b>blow east-to-west, taking warm water from South America<\/b> <b>towards Asia.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>To replace<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that <\/span><b>warm water, cold water rises <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from the depths \u2014 a process called <\/span><b>upwelling<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What is El Ni\u00f1o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)?\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>El Ni\u00f1o and La Ni\u00f1a<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are two<\/span><b> opposing climate pattern<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s that<\/span><b> break normal climatic conditions.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scientists <\/span><b>call these<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> phenomena the <\/span><b>El Ni\u00f1o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El Ni\u00f1o and La Ni\u00f1a can both have global <\/span><b>impacts on weather, wildfires, ecosystems,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and economies.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Episodes of El Ni\u00f1o and La Ni\u00f1a <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">typically last <\/span><b>nine to 12 months<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> but can <\/span><b>sometimes last for years.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El Ni\u00f1o and La Ni\u00f1a events <\/span><b>occur every two to seven years, on average,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> but they <\/span><b>don\u2019t occur on a regular schedule.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generally, <\/span><b>El Ni\u00f1o occurs more frequently<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than La Ni\u00f1a.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What is El Nino?<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El Ni\u00f1o is a climate pattern that describes the <\/span><b>unusual warming <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of <\/span><b>surface waters<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the <\/span><b>eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El Ni\u00f1o is the \u201c<\/span><b>warm phase\u201d of the ENSO.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During El Ni\u00f1o, <\/span><b>surface temperatures<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the e<\/span><b>quatorial Pacific rise<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><b>trade winds <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014 east-west winds that blow near the Equator \u2014 <\/span><b>weaken<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They falter and <\/span><b>change direction to turn into westerlies,<\/b> <b>bringing warm water<\/b> <b>from <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the <\/span><b>western Pacific towards the Americas.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The phenomena of <\/span><b>upwelling is reduced <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">under El Ni\u00f1o.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This in turn <\/span><b>reduces phytoplankton<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Thus, fish that eat phytoplankton are affected, followed by other organisms higher up the food chain.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Warm waters<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> also <\/span><b>carry tropical species towards colder areas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, disrupting multiple ecosystems.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the Pacific covers almost one-third of the earth, changes in its temperature and subsequent alteration of wind patterns <\/span><b>disrupt global weather patterns.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El Ni\u00f1o causes <\/span><b>dry, warm winters in the Northern U.S.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a<\/span><b>nd Canada<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and increases the <\/span><b>risk of flooding in the U.S. gulf coast<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and south-eastern U.S.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also brings <\/span><b>drought to Indonesia and Australia.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What is La Nina?<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">La Ni\u00f1a, the <\/span><b>\u201ccool phase\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of ENSO, sees <\/span><b>cooler<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than <\/span><b>average sea surface temperature <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(SST) in the <\/span><b>equatorial Pacific region.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Trade winds are stronger<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than usual, <\/span><b>pushing warmer water towards Asia.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>On the American west coast<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>upwelling increases,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> bringing nutrient-rich water to the surface.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Pacific cold waters close to the Americas push jet streams <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014 narrow bands of strong winds in the upper atmosphere \u2014 <\/span><b>northwards<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Impacts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This leads to <\/span><b>drier conditions in the Southern U.S.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><b>heavy rainfall in Canada.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">La Ni\u00f1a has also been associated with <\/span><b>heavy floods in Australia.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Impact on India\u2019s monsoons<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>In India, El Ni\u00f1o causes weak rainfall and more heat<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, while <\/span><b>La Ni\u00f1a intensifies rainfall <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">across South Asia, particularly in India\u2019s northwest and Bangladesh during the monsoon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Source: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/energy-and-environment\/el-nino-on-the-horizon-during-monsoon-months\/article70574911.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TH<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>El Nino is a climate pattern that describes the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Read more about El Ni\u00f1o-La Ni\u00f1a Weather Patterns, Impact, Latest News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":85312,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5070,21,22,23],"class_list":{"0":"post-7611","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","8":"tag-el-nino","9":"tag-prelims-pointers","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7611"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85314,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7611\/revisions\/85314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}