What is El Niño?
El Niño is a climate phenomenon where warm water in the Indo-Western Pacific warm pool moves eastward along the equator, disrupting weather patterns globally.
What Constitutes a Strong El Niño?
A strong El Niño is characterized by a sea surface temperature in the equatorial Pacific that is at least 1.5°C (2.7°F) higher than normal. It's measured in an area known as the Nino 3.4 Index.
How Does it Affect Weather?
Warm water causes the air above it to heat up and rise, leading to increased precipitation and altered atmospheric circulation patterns.
What is the Walker Circulation?
This is the atmospheric circulation loop that reacts to El Niño, affecting global weather systems like the jet stream in the U.S.
How Was the 2023 El Niño Different?
The 2023 El Niño did not affect the Atlantic hurricane season as much as expected because the atmosphere did not respond to the warmer water quickly enough.
How Does El Niño Impact Hurricanes?
Typically, El Niño increases wind shear that can weaken or disassemble Atlantic hurricanes. But the 2023 case was an exception.
Is El Niño Affected by Climate Change?
The impact of global warming on El Niño is still a subject of ongoing research. The events are variable and occur infrequently, making it challenging to establish a baseline.
Why Was There a Delay in Atmospheric Response?
The delay is still under research, but the overall warming of the tropics could be a contributing factor.
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