Gone are the days where children used to play in the sun the climate has changed so lot and become so unpredictable. Back In the days of my childhood, I used to play in sun almost every day. For me and my friends it was just the usual even the sun wasn’t so harsh in the peak of summers. Contrary to nowadays you can’t walk in the sun after 12 pm now. In search for the answers I came across two weather phenomena’s El Niño and La Niña
Let’s discuss about them
El Niño called the Boy in Spanish and La Niña called the Girl in Spanish They are caused by changes in ocean temperatures and wind patterns in the Pacific Ocean, which affect the weather systems around the world. They last from about 9 months to 1 year and occur every 2 to 7 years on average. El Niño occurs more frequently than La Niña.
Let’s dwell deep into this two now and see what they can do
El Niño
El Niño it happens or occurs when the surface water of Pacific Ocean becomes warm. What happens is trade winds weaken. Warm water is pushed back east, toward the west coast of the Americas. To replace that warm water, cold water rises from the depths this process is called Upwelling
It is named after the Christ Child (Jesus) because El Niño typically peaks around December (Christmas).
The warming affects weather worldwide, often causing:
- Heavy rains and flooding in some areas (like South America).
- Droughts in other regions (like Australia and Southeast Asia).
- Warmer winters in parts of North America
- In India we get extreme summers and drought
South American fishermen first noticed periods of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean in the 1600s. The full name they used was El Niño de Navidad
La Niña
La Niña, Opposite of El Niño, Occurs or happens when the surface water of Central and Eastern Pacific Ocean becomes cooler than usual. What happens is trade winds are stronger than usual, pushing more warm water toward Asia. Off the west coast of the Americas, upwelling increases, bringing cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface. . This environment supports more marine life and attracts more cold-water species, like squid and salmon, to places like the California coast.
This cooling also impacts global weather, often leading to:
- Stronger hurricanes in the Atlantic.
- Cooler and wetter conditions in the northern U.S. and Canada.
- Drier and warmer weather in the southern U.S.
- In India during monsoon season we receive normal or above normal rainfall
Key Differences Summarized:
| Feature | El Niño (Warm Phase) | La Niña (Cool Phase) |
| Sea Surface Temperature | Unusually warm in the central and eastern tropical Pacific | Unusually cold in the central and eastern tropical Pacific |
| Trade Winds | Weaker than normal | Stronger than normal |
| Global Impacts | Can cause droughts in some regions and floods in others | Can cause stronger monsoons in some regions and droughts in others |
Effects disrupts the natural flow of weather and upwelling
For More Details Look at: Ocean Service , Wikipedia , Science Notes
Also You can check : Perplexity Ai
Sanjayr