NOAA says El Niño continues to develop in equatorial Pacific
US scientists report that ocean surface temperatures warmed 2°C in the eastern equatorial pacific near the South American coast in February, an additional sign that the Pacific Ocean is heading toward an El Niño condition.
In a release earlier this month, Conrad Lautenbacher, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said it is still too early to determine the potential strength of El Niño, “but it is likely these warming conditions in the tropical Pacific will continue until early 2003.”
Peruvian officials report that ocean warming has had a significant impact on the fishing industry in the region, another indicator of a developing El Niño.
El Niño episodes, which occur roughly every four-to-five years and can last up to 18 months, have important consequences for weather around the globe. Among these consequences are increased rainfall across the southern tier of the United States and in Peru, which has caused destructive flooding, and drought in Indonesia and Australia.
It has been nearly four years since the end of the 1997-1998 El Niño.