El Niño, which started in June 2023 and caused low rainfall in India along with water shortages in some areas, as well as droughts and long dry spells across Asia, has ended.
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) announced on Tuesday that the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has returned to normal, and the cooler phase, known as La Niña, is expected to return by spring.
The transition between El Niño and La Niña is important for Indian farmers as well as for the world.
El Niño, which means “little boy” in Spanish, is a weather pattern characterised by warmer sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean.
La Niña, meaning “little girl”, involves cooling sea surface temperatures in the same regions. It happens every 3-5 years and can occur in consecutive years, bringing increased rainfall and different weather patterns.
The central equatorial Pacific has now returned to normal conditions, about seven months after El Niño began, according to BOM. “International climate models suggest ENSO is likely to remain normal until at least July 2024.”
BOM’s climate models forecast La Niña to return by spring, possibly earlier.
As part of the first phase of the southwest monsoon forecast, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) stated on Monday that it expects above-average rainfall during the June-September monsoon season.
