The Maldives lost 90% of their coral, and in total 16% or the world’s reefs were wiped out. The last big El Nino event, in 1997-1998, caused the worst coral bleaching (where the coral is killed and turns white) on record.
The dry periods are also often the cause of devastating bush fires: the El Nino of 1982-1983 destroyed 335,000 hectares of Australian forest and agricultural land.įishing will also be badly affected, the last El Nino events having wiped out 90% of sardine and anchovy stocks on the on the north-west coast of South America.Īcross the Pacific, the warmer current will have an irreversible effect on coral reefs. “Droughts are especially feared in these countries that are particularly dependent on agriculture,” according to Professor Pohl. On the other side of the Pacific, the weather pattern is usually inverted, with lower rainfall and droughts expected as far west as South East Asia, India and West Africa. The storms are predicted to be so severe, in fact, that Peru has cancelled the Paris-Dakar rally that had been due to take place there in January 2024. The knock-on effects of the warmer ocean currents are expected to create an upsurge in dense rainclouds that impacts much of North and South America, bringing heavy rain and flooding even in desert regions.Īnd while this might seem like good news, especially for drought-hit areas such as California, these rain storms are often fast, brutal downpours. Scientists predict that the massive warm Pacific currents heading for the Peruvian and Equatorial coasts will be particularly severe this year. It takes place periodically, in cycles of between two and seven years. Warmer sea currents led to an absence of fish, which prefer cooler nutrient-rich water. The El Nino weather phenomenon translates as “little one” and was named after the baby Jesus by fishermen, as it seemed to peak around Christmas time. This is a considerable rise in temperature.” “Surface waters are already 0,5☌ to 1☌ warmer than usual, from which we can predict that they will rise to 2☌ above the average as El Nino peaks. “The early signs are already there,” French climatologist Professor Benjamin Pohl, of the national CNRS research institute, told FRANCE 24. The Pacific El Nino phenomenon, which is responsible for recurring extreme weather events worldwide, looks set to be particularly intense as it returns this year after a six-year hiatus.Ĭlimate experts predict that the ocean current pattern, which moves from the West to East Pacific, will have profound environmental and economic effects across the globe.
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