REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 13 (Reuters) - There is a more than 95% chance that the El Niño weather pattern will continue through the Northern Hemisphere winter from January - March 2024, a U.S. government forecaster said on Thursday, bringing more extreme conditions.
"In August, sea surface temperatures were above average across the equatorial Pacific ocean, with strengthening in the central and east-central Pacific," the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) said.
El Nino is a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific, and can provoke extreme weather phenomena from wildfires to tropical cyclones and prolonged droughts.
On Tuesday, Australia's weather bureau said that El Nino indicators had strengthened and the weather event would likely develop between September and November, bringing hotter and drier conditions to Australia.
"Despite nearly the same ensemble mean amplitude as last month, the shorter forecast horizon means that the odds of at least a 'strong' El Niño have increased to 71%," CPC said.
Persons:
Adnan Abidi, El Nino, Chris Hyde, Brijesh Patel, Seher Dareen, Rahul Paswan, Sharon Singleton
Organizations:
REUTERS, Prediction Center, El, El Nino, CPC, World Meteorological Organization, India, Thomson
Locations:
Ballia District, Uttar Pradesh, India, U.S, Pacific, South Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia, Brazil, Asia, Africa, Bengaluru