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Weather patterns control the world

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Posted on January 16, 2011 by ecoadmin 

Floods and drought are par for the course

Our small planet’s complex weather systems are awesome! In Brazil, floods have already claimed up to 369 lives. In Australia’s Queensland floods have not claimed so many lives but, nevertheless, their overall effects have been disastrous and caused billions of pounds of damage.

So what is behind all of this? The BBC – a formidable authority on many issues – says that between 1997 and 1998 the damage caused by the El Niño Southern Oscillation was catastrophic for many parts of the world, but is there another threat that causes headlines around the world as scientists learn more about ‘La Niña’ (or cold episode southern oscillation)? What is this phenomena?

The BBC says, La Niña translates from the Spanish as ‘The Child Girl’ and meteorologically is the opposite of the more well known El Niño. The term La Niña refers to the extensive cooling of the central and eastern Pacific. The subsequent changes to the atmosphere and ocean circulation are as varied and diverse as those of the earlier El Niño event.
Increased sea temperatures on the western side of the Pacific means that here the atmosphere has more energy. Lower than normal temperatures across the central and eastern Pacific Ocean have important effects on the weather and in particular on rainfall amounts. Increased sea temperatures on the western side of the Pacific means that here the atmosphere has more energy and the frequency of heavy rain and thunderstorms is increased.

So the BBC say that places such as north Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia will have more cloud and more rain, (the opposite to the dry weather during El Niño and the problem with smog and bush fires). The strong temperature contrast across the Pacific means the easterly trade winds will be enhanced for the Pacific Ocean.

Globally La Niña, in very general terms, will mean that those parts of the world that normally experience dry weather will be drier and those with wet weather will be wetter. The Atlantic and Pacific hurricane activity will increase with La Niña and the effects of severe droughts are likely in those already dry parts of the world.

Photo shows flooding in Brazil. Image from Google

More information: www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features

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One Response to “Weather patterns control the world”

  1. ecoadmin says:

    January 16th, 2011 at 6:01 pm
     

    Keep an eye on El Niño and ‘La Niña’ they will control the world!

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