What is El Niño and it’s impacts on the earth?

El Niño means “Little Boy” in Spanish. 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, because El Niño typically peaks around December. El Niño can significantly affect our weather. The warmer waters cause the Pacific jet stream to move south of its neutral position. With this shift, areas in the northern U.S. and Canada are drier and warmer than usual. But in the U.S. Gulf Coast and Southeast, these periods are wetter than usual and experience increased flooding.

Since 2023, researchers have assumed that 2024 will bring a severe El Niño. Not only will El Niño be accompanied by its opposite phase, La Niña. As a result, this year is expected to be the hottest year on record. Maybe this is where its effects started. Consequently, countries in the Middle East, including the Arab Emirates and Oman, have experienced heavy rainfall, while countries in South Asia, including Bangladesh and India, have experienced extreme heat. If we look at the history of this subcontinent, it can be seen that there was a severe drought in 1895 to 1896, resulting in about 50 lakh deaths. Researchers still did not have much idea about El Niño, but the scenario changed in 1982. When combined, there is a huge influence on the climate of all five continents. Since late last year, researchers have realized that El Niño has re-emerged in the Pacific Ocean and is gradually intensifying. In other words, it may happen that this year we will have to sleep with the fan off. Scientists believe that the year 2024 will be the hottest year in the history of the earth. The surface will be heated, droughts will appear, and some areas will experience heavy rainfall and landslides, the effects of which may have already started. Sudden heavy rainfall has caused flooding in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Kazakhstan. On the other hand, in Bangladesh, the temperature has reached close to 40 degrees Celsius in the beginning of summer. According to the Meteorological Office, there is a risk of increasing its intensity. Bangladesh and India have experienced four cyclones in 2023 under the influence of this El Niño. El Niño will not only cause natural damage but will also affect the world economy. The effects of El Niño that occurred in 1997 to 1998 caused about 5.7 trillion dollars in damages worldwide. In 1982, that loss was $4.1 trillion. Experts estimate that El Niño will cause losses of around $84 trillion this year.

Fishermen are the most affected by the effects of El Niño. Due to El Niño’s influence on seawater warming, fish species such as phytoplankton move to colder waters rather than coming to the surface of the sea and coastal areas. As a result, fishermen do not catch any fish in their nets, and their livelihoods are affected.

So we should all be aware of El Niño ourselves and make everyone else aware.