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El-nino and It`s Varied Impacts: A Review

Tarikul Islam Golder
Department of Zoology, Surendranath College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Corresponding Author’s Email: [Link]

ABSTRACT
El-Nino is a periodic flow of warm Pacific equatorial waters southward, usually around Christmas time.
El-Nino is linked to the Southern Oscillation and it affects the atmosphere, disrupting weather condition
of the world. Its disastrous effects have resulted in drought in Australia and Papua New Guinea, a
delayed monsoon in South-East Asia leading to massive forest fires choking smog, storms on the
Pacific coast of South and Central America, drought in Southern Africa, and threat of flood in Peru and
California. Its increasing sensitivity and frequency through the 1980s and 1990s, suggests that El-Nino
is affected by an increase of heat trapping greenhouse gases in the upper atmosphere. Global
Warming could make the El-Nino a permanent feature of world`s weather system. El-Nino and
Southern Oscillation largely affect developing countries that are largely depending upon fishery and
agriculture for employment, foreign exchange, and food supply. Global warming increases severity
and frequency of El-Nino which has great socio-economic impact on these countries.
Keywords: El-Nino; Southern Oscillation; Smog; Greenhouse Gas; Global Warming; Forest Fires;
Flood

INTRODUCTION
It is known that there are many anthropogenic factors in the climate, especially CO and greenhouse
gases such as methane (Ch ), CFC, and N O as part of the daily activities. However, there are many
natural processes that affect local climate, regional climate and global conditions. Other effects on the
climate are the result of fluctuations and inconsistencies with the world's most complex seawater. This
fluctuation is known as oscillation and the most popular oscillation is El Nino (Kunzer et al., 2009; Mc
Phaden, 1993). Understanding El Nino requires knowledge of a wide range of data from most studies.
LITERATURE REVIEW
El Nino
El Nino is a natural phenomenon that involves a change in the temperature of oceans in the Pacific and
the equator, along with changes in the atmosphere. This situation has a profound effect on climate
patterns in various parts of the world. Scientific advances in understanding and modeling of El Nino
have improved forecasting skills one to nine months in advance, helping the public to prepare for
similar dangers such as heavy rain, floods and droughts. The value of this forecast could translate into
hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in potential savings.
The cycle begins when warm water in the western Pacific Ocean flows eastward toward the equator
toward the coast of South America. Most of the hot water lakes are near Indonesia and the Philippines.
During El Nino, the warm Pacific water resides on the northwest coast of South America.
There is the opposite of El Nino, called La Nina. This refers to a time when the eastern tropical pacific
waters are much colder than normal and commercial winds are blowing harder than usual. Together, El
Nino and La Nina are part of the complexity of the space system in the ocean called the El Nino
Southern Oscillation or ENSO cycle (Shaw & Moore, 1988), which also has a neutral phase.
La Nina
La Nina is an integral part of the El Nino spacecraft as part of the El Nino - Southern Oscillation. The

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El-Nino and It`s Varied Impacts: A Review

name La Nina comes from Spanish, meaning "little girl", which is similar to El Nino meaning "little boy".
It has previously been called anti-El Nino, and El Viejo (meaning "old"). During La Nina, sea
temperatures across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean drops below normal by 3° to 5° C.
Impact of La Nina on global climate
La Nina has an impact on the global climate and disrupts normal climatic patterns, which can lead to
severe storms in some areas and droughts in other parts.
Causes of El Nino
The name given to a change in the current flow of the Pacific Ocean near the equator is known as El
Nino. El Nino is a Spanish word meaning 'Boy' because it happens at Christmas time - it repeats every
five to seven years (Caviedes, 2001).
The following are the features of the Pacific Ocean before the El Nino events:
• The pacific topical is characterized by continuous western trade winds. The western wind, also
known as the commercial wind, blows warm water from the ocean floor east to west. As a result,
warmer waters form off Asia's west coast.
• On the other hand, cold water is pushed upward on the ocean's eastern shore, near the center of
South America. As a result, the equatorial Pacific has a temperature gradient, with warm water in the
west and cold water in the east. Warm water in the west warms the air, causing a rise in warmer air,
which leads to inclement weather such as rain and thunderstorms. The rising warm air causes the
east-west flow to spread across the Pacific, bringing warm, wet air rising to the west, and a cool dry air
flowing down the east (Walker, 1988).
• All these natural factors contributed to the strengthening of the eastern winds, which resulted in a
windward movement that propelled them into the Pacific.
This self-sustaining flow of air in the Pacific continues until slow changes occur in the ocean around the
equator and cause a series of El Nino-like phenomena:
• When conditions are favourable, the trade winds weaken, causing less warm surface water to be
pushed westward and less cold water to be drawn to the surface in the east. Parts of the ocean that are
cold during the normal self-perpetuating cycle warm up, cancelling out the normal temperature
difference between east and west in the equatorial Pacific.
• Rainfall patterns over the equatorial Pacific are changing as trade winds weaken and warm water
moves.
• With the ocean temperature evened out, the warmest waters are closer to the centre of the ocean,
resulting in the cloudy, rainy weather that is typical of the centre of the ocean.
All of these events cause abrupt changes in temperature and weather all over the world.
El Nino affects condition
El Nino is occurring every five years and it is a common occurrence due to atmospheric warming
caused by winds, leading to the spread of this global warming. It alters atmospheric pressure with the
effects of rainfall, wind patterns, sea surface temperatures and can sometimes have positive effects
and, sometimes having a detrimental effect on climate limits. In Europe, for example, El Nino reduces
the incidence of hurricanes in the Atlantic. The start of the El Nino program was seen in North America
in the previous winter. El Nino includes:
• Low temperatures in winter in western Canada and northwestern USA.
• Rainfall increases in the Gulf Coast including Florida.
• The dry season is in the middle of Ohio and the Pacific Northwest.

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Effects of El Nino on weather

Major effects of El Nino occur in tropical and subtropical areas. The following are some of the effects El
Nino has on climate in this part of the world:
• In South America, the west coast is experiencing an increase in flood danger, while the east coast is
experiencing an increase in drought risk (Marengo et al., 2009). Inferenced Oceanic Kelvin/Rossby
Wave Influence on North American West Coast, Pacific post-El Niño heat transfer mechanism
associated with oceanic Kelvin/Rossby waves that potentially affect atmosphere (Lee & Chelton,
1998)
• Drought is becoming more likely in eastern countries like India and Indonesia. Rainfall is prevalent
in the eastern Pacific (west coast of South America) and extreme weather is common in the western
hemisphere, including India and Indonesia. As a result, all of the excess heat on the Pacific Ocean's
surface, as well as the heat released into the atmosphere, has resulted in temporary global warming
(Glantz et al., 2001).
• The influence of El Nino is on the weather peaks in December and can linger for a few months after
that.
• After El Nino, trade with the winds of the east, a cycle of self-assertion becomes the norm. However,
in the case of La Nina the effects are reversed, and the trade winds intensify, making the normal cycle
much larger and having a dynamic El Nino effect.
• Atmospheric CO levels increase as the effects of El Nino increase with greenhouse gases. This
warm and dries the tropical environment, reducing their carbon intake and intensifying forest fires.
Economic effects of El Nino
• Rice production is declining in Asian countries. With increasing drought on the west side of the
equatorial Pacific, GDP in the region is often falling during the El Nino cycle. Water is needed to harvest
the rice. Drought is having a major impact on rice production in countries that harvest rice. As rice is an
important crop in many of these Asian countries, El Nino has a negative impact on the economies of
these countries.
• In non-Asian countries harvesting other crops, such as wheat is reduced due to drought. For the
farmers and harvesters of these crops El Nino has a very negative impact on the economy, such as rice
production and exports to Asian countries (Fagan,1999).
• Fish harvesting in coastal countries such as Ecuador and Peru is difficult, as the fish in the water
near these countries usually disappear during the months of December and January (Philander,
1990).
• In general, the severe El Nino climate change is wreaking havoc on the economies of several
countries around the equator. While typical years have a steady climate, resulting in predictable
market results, El Nino years have a drastic change in climate, resulting in harsh weather on both sides
of the Pacific.
DISCUSSION
During the winter, El Nino promotes warmer conditions across the Indian subcontinent. It causes dry
conditions and low rainfall in the summer. In Australia, it causes drought. La Nina, on the other hand,
resulting in a better position in India than typical Australia, on the other hand, has seen floods (Li et al.,
2013).
• India has previously received high rainfall during El Nino events in 2002 and 2009, as well as
frequent rainfall during El Nino events in 1994 and 1997.
• Analysis by the Indian Meteorological Department shows that, in the 18 El Nino years from 1880 to
2006, twelve were in short supply of rain or less - common in India. This means that, for the third time,

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El-Nino and It`s Varied Impacts: A Review

there was no convergence, and that led to surprisingly incorrect weather forecasts.
• Recent research aimed at finding a stronger link shows that not all El Nino’s cause drought and
heat only in central Pacific correlates and drought in India while warming in the eastern pacific means a
common storm (Hayes et al., 1991).
• Indian meteorological department, the official forecasting agency, has set to issue its first long
range forecast of summer temperatures on 2015. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana witnessed a severe
heat wave on 2015. In 2016, the winter temperatures have been markedly above normal in most part of
the country. Due to negative effect of this phenomenon thousands of people lost their lives in Andhra
Pradesh.
CONCLUSION
El Nino is a natural occurrence that has no control over the weather or the lives of people all around the
planet. However, because it is usually visible to meteorologists, individuals in the afflicted countries
should take precautions to avoid further harm.
People in El Nino-affected areas must take the required precautions to safeguard themselves,
whether they are planning for floods or droughts. This might result in additional flooding during a
drought or ensure that their homes are flood-proof. Due to the impact on many key crops in these
nations, further precautionary measures could include storing these crops in anticipation of drought or
damage caused by excessive rainfall.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author expresses deep sense of gratitude to Dr. Indranil Kar, Principal, Surendranath College for
his constant support and encouragement in writing this article. The author is equally grateful to
Department of Zoology, Surendranath College for providing the latest information on this area.

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