El Niño News

El Nino events could be extreme by 2050 if current trends in greenhouse gas emissions continue, a new study has found. El Nino, a weather pattern known for triggering warmer extremes like heatwaves and floods, is known to raise sea surface temperatures, while its counterpart La Nina leads to cooling effects. Both are phases of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate driver. Multiple studies have provided evidence that a consistently warming climate favours more frequent and intense El Nino events, which are known to fuel extreme weather events. In this study, conducted by researchers including those from the University of Colorado Boulder, US, used computer models to stimulate El Nino events over the past 21,000 years — the peak of Earth's last Ice Age, one of the planet's coldest periods.

The baobab tree is known as the “tree of life,” and its fruit is feeding a growing global market for natural food and beauty products

India is gearing up for an exceptionally harsh winter, as forecasted by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The IMD has pointed to the onset of the La Niña phenomenon in September 2024, which is expected to cause a significant drop in temperatures and increased rainfall across the country. La Niña, the cooler counterpart to El Niño, is characterised by lower sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, leading to widespread climate effects, including colder and harsher winters. According to the IMD's announcement on September 2, 2024, La Niña is likely to result in a severe winter. Typically, La Niña begins between April and June, strengthening between October and February, and can last from nine months to two years. It is driven by strong easterly winds pushing ocean waters westward, which cools the ocean surface. This contrasts with El Niño, which brings warmer conditions. Different regions in India are expected to experience varying degrees of winter severity. Northern states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir may see especially frigid conditions, with temperatures potentially falling as low as 3°C. Additionally, the combination of colder weather and increased rainfall could impact agriculture, particularly in areas that rely on winter crops.

European Union's climate change monitoring service said on Friday, as global warming continues to intensify. The boreal summer of June to August this year blew past last summer to become the world's warmest, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin. The exceptional heat increases the likelihood that 2024 will outrank 2023 as the planet's warmest on record.

Panama Canal is lifting restrictions that caused a global shipping bottleneck as water levels normalize after a severe drought. The Panama Canal Authority increased the draft in the waterway to a maximum 50 feet and will allow 36 vessels a day to transit after recent rains lifted water levels at an artificial lake that forms part of the canal system, administrator Ricaurte Vasquez told reporters Monday. The agency expects rains to continue through November, further lifting water levels, he said. The canal handles about 3% of global maritime trade volumes under normal circumstances, and 46% of containers moving from Northeast Asia to the US East Coast. The channel is Panama’s biggest source of revenue, bringing in nearly $5 billion last year.

The Malawian government has received an insurance payout of $11.2 million for an El Nino-linked drought that led to a disaster declaration in the southern African nation

Dispatches of passenger vehicles last month, though, declined by about 2% with automakers limiting wholesales amid elevated stock levels in the market. As per industry estimates inventory of passenger vehicles in the channel stands at 407,000 units. Dealers peg the numbers higher and said car stocks in the network range between 67-72 days. Auto retailers body FADA (Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations), however, expect good retails in the upcoming festive season. Challenges though remain due to high stocks in the passenger vehicle segment, weak consumer sentiments in certain areas stemming from economic uncertainties and uneven spread of the monsoons.

Climate Change Service, more records could be broken shortly.

dangerous levels of heat. This year is no exception—indeed, it carries the trend further. In Saudi Arabia more than 1,300 pilgrims died during the hajj , the pilgrimage to Mecca, as temperatures exceeded 50°C.

dangerous levels of heat. This year is no exception—indeed, it carries the trend further. In Saudi Arabia more than 1,300 pilgrims died during the hajj , the pilgrimage to Mecca, as temperatures exceeded 50°C.

Climate change is driving dangerous heat waves across the Northern Hemisphere this week and will continue to deliver dangerous weather for decades to come, research shows. «It is a worldwide heat wave that we are now suffering. That puts the heat under our decisions,» said Christiana Figueres, a former U.N. climate agency chief. Here's how climate change is pushing heat to new extremes.

hydroelectricity production in recent times may further coal usage to meet its rising power demand in the coming months, S&P Global Commodity Insights said on Tuesday. It is also likely to keep the coal import window open for the country. This is despite an increase in coal production, which touched the 1-billion-tonne mark in FY24, which was in line with the government's target of reducing the country's dependence on coal imports, it said. Depleting hydroelectricity generation in the backdrop of irregular rainfall last year has led to a lower water level available in the country's primary reservoirs which could further reduce generation during the summer, it said. India has imported around 85 million tonnes of thermal coal so far in 2024, S&P Global Commodities at Sea data showed.

La Nina.El Niño, which began in June 2023, resulting in insufficient rainfall in India, and leading to water scarcity in some regions, besides droughts and prolonged dry periods across Asia is transitioning to El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-neutral this month and the cooler phase, or La Niña, as early as in June-August or by July-September.More rain is expected in Bengaluru for the next two days with overcast conditions, followed by light to moderate thundershowers as southwest Monsoon advanced into some more parts of south Peninsular India on Monday, the weather bureau said.Meanwhile, heat wave conditions prevailed in isolated pockets in the central part of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, West Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and East Madhya Pradesh. Heatwave conditions have been prevailing over Haryana since 17 May and over Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh since 18 May.Also Read | Mint Primer | Into the 50s: Why heatwaves are hotter & longerOn Sunday, maximum temperatures witnessed a fall of 3-4°C over some parts of East Madhya Pradesh, 2-3°C fall in some parts of Interior Odisha, Vidarbha, Punjab and by 1-2°C over some parts of Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, West Madhya Pradesh and adjoining East Rajasthan.Maximum Temperature on Sunday was in the range of 43- 45°C over some parts of north Rajasthan, south Haryana, Delhi, north Madhya Pradesh and southeast Madhya Pradesh; in the range 41-43°C over many parts of Punjab, remaining parts of Haryana, Delhi, south Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh; over some parts of west Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha, Telangana, south interior Odisha.

El Nino, the natural weather phenomenon that contributed to 2023 being the hottest year on record, has recently subsided, paving the way for its opposing, cooling La Nina phase to begin.

record-high temperatures. Sea surface temperatures have been record-high for the past 13 months, according to the WMO.The WMO said this is happening due to the naturally occurring El Niño — unusual warming of waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean — and the additional energy trapped in the atmosphere and ocean by greenhouse gases from human activities.Amid a prevailing but weakening El Niño, millions of people in South Asia, including India and Pakistan, endured brutal heat in April and May.The latest forecasts from the WMO Global Producing Centres of Long-Range Forecasts give equal chances (50 per cent) of either neutral conditions or a transition to La Niña during June-August.The chance of La Niña conditions increases to 60 per cent during July to September and 70 per cent during August to November.The probability of El Niño redeveloping is negligible during this time, the WMO said.While El Niño is associated with weaker monsoon winds and drier conditions in India, La Niña -- the antithesis of El Niño -- leads to plentiful rainfall during the monsoon.Last month, the India Meteorological Department had forecast above normal rain in the monsoon season in India with favourable La Niña conditions expected to set in by August-September.The monsoon is critical for India's agricultural landscape, with 52 per cent of the net cultivated area relying on it.

Indian economy is on a firm footing with an improved external sector sustainability and a robust corporate balance sheet which along with a thrust on production linked incentive schemes could boost employment, said the Reserve Bank of India in its annual report. «The outlook for the Indian economy remains bright, underpinned by a sustained strengthening of macroeconomic fundamentals, robust financial and corporate sectors and a resilient external sector,» RBI said.

At 2.30pm on Wednesday, the NCR’s temperature hit a shocking 52.3 degrees Celsius, its hottest day ever, according to a screenshot taken by Mint. Earth sciences minister Kiren Rijuju later said this was “not official yet" and described such a high temperature as “very unlikely" while asking the weather office to verify the report. Nonetheless, extreme hot weather is increasing both in duration and intensity.

Europe may have read it in books as the outbreaks are mostly confined to the tropics of the world. This may not be the case anymore, as a report indicates that the region will experience a greater number of cases in the coming years.

the forecast comes as a relief after uneven precipitation and prolonged dry spell last year due to El Nino weighing on farm output that pushed up food prices and led the central bank to cut interest rates.“A normal monsoon forecast by IMD this year will bode well for Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha," Pushan Sharma, director-Research, Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics, told Mint. However, statistically normal monsoon may not be enough and its spatial and temporal distribution will be critical. “For example, last year while monsoon was only 6% lower than LPA (long period average), its onset was delayed, and the spatial and temporal distribution was erratic.

India's northwest braces for more heatwave days this summer, capital Delhi has ordered the closure of all schools as temperatures surge as high as 47 degrees Celsius ahead of voting in the final two phases of national elections. The India Meteorological Department said a confluence of weather patterns was driving up temperatures in the breadbasket region. WHY IS INDIA IS SEEING MORE HEATWAVES?

NEW DELHI : Sowing of crucial summer crops as well as yields of some winter crops this year have been affected with water levels at India’s 150 major reservoirs depleting further to 25% of their total capacity, leaving farmers hoping that the forecast of a normal monsoon will bear fruit. While 33 reservoirs have 50% of normal water storage capacity, 85 reservoirs reported about 80% of normal storage, the Central Water Commission said in a bulletin on Thursday.