The previous record was five, which happened in 1987–88 and again in 2006–07 – both El Niño years.įewer clouds and less tropical rain contributed to the most severe coral bleaching event on record for the Great Barrier Reef. The northern wet season produced a record-low three tropical cyclones in the Australian region. However, the lack of heavy rains in the north and west meant reduced downtime for mining. A record early heatwave in October further reduced crop production in the Murray-Darling Basin. From April to August, above-average rainfall fell over parts of inland Western Australia, New South Wales and eastern Victoria.īut by spring, the Indian Ocean was helping El Niño, resulting in Australia's third-driest spring on record, limiting growth at the end of the cropping season. But the drying influence of the 2015–16 El Niño was initially tempered somewhat by very warm temperatures in the Indian Ocean. Typical impacts of El Niño across the globe.Įl Niño is often, but not always, associated with drought in Australia. So as El Niño fades, let's take stock of its impacts worldwide. Early indications are that 2016 could be hotter still. The 2015–16 El Niño was no exception, with wide-ranging effects felt around the world.Įl Niño also added to the globe's warming trend, making 2015 the world's hottest calendar year on record. Every El Niño is different, but typically the stronger the event, the greater its global impact. The 2015–16 El Niño will go down as one of the three strongest El Niño events since 1950. The observed and forecast decline of the 2015–16 El Niño, compared to the record event of 1997–98 and the previous El Niño in 2009–10 Models suggest that ocean cooling will continue, with little chance of a return to El Niño levels in the immediate future. Recent changes in Pacific Ocean temperatures have been comparable to the decline seen at the end of the 1998 El Niño, although temperatures remain warmer than at the end of the most recent El Niño in 2010. Tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures, trade winds, cloud and pressure patterns have all dropped back to near normal, although clearly the event's impacts around the globe are still being felt. The 2015–16 El Niño has likely reached its end.
El Niño is over, but has left its mark across the world
0 kommentar(er)
