Could El Nino be coming to its end? by Sean Batty
The periodic phenomenon known as El Nino, which was blamed for the worst drought to hit Australia in a century has ended, scientists say.
However, Australian experts believe that there are no guarantees that the country's recent drought will come to an end quickly.
The Australian Weather Bureau said: "While the end of the El Nino would normally be associated with a return to more normal rainfall patterns, it should not be seen as a precursor to drought-breaking rains. “ Although the end of El Nino meant there were reason for people to be a bit more hopeful.
El Nino is a warming of the central and eastern parts of the Pacific Ocean, which generally occurs in cycles of around four to seven years and is blamed for disruptive weather patterns around the globe.
El Nino, while itself being in the Pacific, can make its presence felt in every corner of the earth. During 2006/07 it was blamed for severe flooding in the Horn of Africa and also Bolivia, which claimed hundreds of lives and triggered severe winter monsoons in South Africa and Asia.
With the end of El Nino, the above affected areas should start to return to there more 'usual' weather. However there is a fairly good chance that a La Nina is about to form in the Pacific, which is linked to a cooler than normal eastern Pacific Ocean.
La Nina brings its own problems with Atlantic tropical cyclone activity (hurricanes) enhanced during La Nina. Other effects include abnormally heavy monsoons on the Indian subcontinent, flooding in southeast Asia and wet weather in eastern Australia.
So even though El Nino may have dwindled, much to the relief of some areas of the world, some parts are just gearing up for a possible development of La Nina and their share of weather problems.
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