High temperatures make droughts worse, right? Wrong: it’s the other way around. Ahead of an El Niño summer that looks set to bring drought to much of Australia, here’s a quick primer on how they form.
El Niño has a hugely pervasive effect on global temperatures - for every degree the tropical Pacific warms, land temperatures warm by 1.5 degrees. How? Because the tropical ocean is a very good heater.
The link between El Niño and heatwaves is complicated. But what we can say is that this summer’s strong El Niño conditions are likely to bring more heatwaves to much of Australia’s north and east.
Faith Kearns, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Doug Parker, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
El Niño is expected to bring heavy rains to drought-stricken California, but more rain alone won’t solve the West’s water crisis.
Papua New Guinea is now facing a drought and frosts that look set to be worse than 1997, when hundreds of people died. So how can memories of 1997 save lives over the next few months?
The seesaw between El Niño and La Niña is set to get stronger with global warming. Signs are that this year and next will deliver a big swing from one to the other, prompting fires and floods across the world.
This weekend is predicted to be the coldest of the year in Australia. But it has otherwise been a slow start to the snow season, and my research shows that this is a sign of things to come.
Thomas Wernberg, The University of Western Australia and Dan Smale, Marine Biological Association
Western Australia’s marine environment is unique. Two world heritage areas, the largest fringing coral reef in Australia, and more than a thousand kilometres of underwater forests, supporting incredible…
It’s confirmed: 2014 produced the highest global temperatures since records began in the 1880s. As if that’s not cause enough for concern, this year threatens to see the return of El Niño, which like some…