The phenomenon “will considerably increase the probability of breaking temperature records”, warned on Tuesday the Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas.
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An alert “to save lives and livelihoods”. The UN called on Tuesday, July 4, governments to anticipate the consequences of the El Niño weather phenomenon, which has just started and which is generally associated with a rise in global temperatures. The phenomenon will continue throughout the year at an intensity “at least moderate”said the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN agency.
On June 8, the US Oceanic and Atmospheric Observation Agency (NOAA) had already announced the arrival of El Niño. WMO in turn announces “the beginning of the episode”, with a 90% probability that it will continue in the second half. The upward effect on global temperatures usually becomes apparent within a year of the phenomenon developing. So it will probably be more apparent next year.
“The arrival of El Niño will dramatically increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the oceans”warned the secretary general of the OMM, Petteri Taalas, in the bulletin of the organization. “The announcement of an El Niño event by the WMO is a signal to governments around the world to prepare to limit the effects on our health, our ecosystems and our economies.”
Increased rainfall and severe droughts
Petteri Taalas underlined the importance of early warning systems, but also of measures to anticipate extreme meteorological phenomena linked to El Niño. The phenomenon is generally associated with an increase in precipitation in parts of southern Latin America, the southern United States, the Horn of Africa and Central Asia. It can cause severe droughts in Australia, Indonesia, parts of South Asia and Central America. Its warm waters can fuel hurricanes in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, while they can curb the formation of hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also fears an increase in water-related diseases, such as cholera, or an increase in epidemics of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, such as malaria and dengue fever. The WHO is also concerned about infectious diseases such as measles and meningitis.