Page 2 - El Nino

India likely to get normal monsoon this year: Private forecaster Skymet

Seasonal rains expected to be 102% of the long-period average of 868.6 mm for four-month period, it say

Zimbabwe announces drought disaster amid El Nino-induced hunger crisis

Zimbabwe declared a state of disaster on Wednesday over a devastating drought that's sweeping across much of southern Africa, with the country's president saying it needs USD 2 billion for humanitarian assistance. The declaration was widely expected following similar actions by neighbouring Zambia and Malawi, where drought linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon has scorched crops, leaving millions of people in need of food assistance. Due to the El Nino-induced drought more than 80 per cent of our country received below normal rainfall," President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a speech calling for international aid. The country's top priority, he said, is "securing food for all Zimbabweans. No Zimbabwean must succumb to, or die from hunger. He appealed to United Nations agencies, local businesses and faith organisations to contribute towards humanitarian assistance. El Nino, a naturally occurring climatic phenomenon that warms parts of the Pacific Ocean every two to seven years, ha

'2023-24 El Nino among 5 strongest on record, heat to persist this year'

The 2023-24 El Nino has peaked as one of the five strongest on record and will continue to impact global climate in the coming months despite a weakening trend, the World Meteorological Organisation said on Tuesday. The UN agency also said above-normal temperatures are predicted over almost all land areas between March and May. The prevailing El Nino conditions fuelled record temperatures and extreme events the world over, with 2023 being the warmest on record. According to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, the global mean temperature breached the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold for an entire year for the first time in January. A permanent breach of the 1.5-degree Celsius limit, specified in the Paris Agreement, however, refers to long-term warming over many years. In its latest update, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said there is about a 60 per cent chance of El Nino persisting during March-May and an 80 per cent likelihood of neutral conditions ..

India likely to experience warmer start to summer season this year: IMD

India is likely to experience a warmer start to the summer season this year with El Nino conditions predicted to continue through the season, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday. More heatwave days than normal are predicted over northeast peninsular India -- Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and north interior Karnataka -- and many parts of Maharashtra and Odisha. The country is likely to record above-normal rainfall in March (more than 117 per cent of the long-period average of 29.9 mm). India is likely to see above-normal maximum and minimum temperatures in most parts of the country in the March to May period, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said at a press conference. Heatwave conditions are not expected over north and central India in March, he said. Lok Sabha polls are likely to be held in April-May. Mohapatra said that the prevailing El Nino conditions -- the periodic warming of waters in the central Pacific Ocean -- will continue through the summer s

'Bountiful monsoon' expected in India as El Nino conditions weaken

After delivering a warm 2023, El Nino conditions are set to dissipate by June this year raising hopes of "bountiful monsoon" rains this season, meteorologists have predicted. At least two global climate agencies announced last week that El Nino, the warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean that impacts weather across the world, has started to weaken and there is a probability of La Nina conditions setting in by August. Weather scientists in India, tracking the developments closely, have said that La Nina conditions setting in by June-August could mean monsoon rains would be better this year than the last year. However, they also struck a word of caution citing the 'spring predictability barrier', considered a forecasting headache as weather models have a harder time making accurate forecasts. Madhavan Rajeevan, former secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said there is a good probability of La Nina developing by June-July. "Even if El Nino transitions into ENSO-neutral ...

January 2024 was world's warmest on record: European climate agency

The world last month experienced the warmest January on record, with the global mean temperature for the past 12 months exceeding the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold, according to the European climate agency. However, this does not imply a permanent breach of the 1.5-degree Celsius limit specified in the Paris agreement, as it refers to long-term warming over many years. Every month since June last year has been the warmest such month on record. Scientists attribute the exceptional warming to the combined effects of El Nio -- a period of abnormal warming of surface waters in the central Pacific Ocean -- and human-caused climate change. The global average temperature in January was 1.66 degrees Celsius above the January average for 1850-1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period. With an average temperature of 13.14 degrees Celsius, January 2024 was 0.12 degrees Celsius warmer than the previous warmest January in 2020, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said. Scien

Normal to above-normal rainfall likely in northwest India in February: IMD

After experiencing a drier-than-usual December and January, northwest India is expected to see normal to above-normal rainfall in February, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said India cumulatively may experience above-normal rainfall in February. Northwest India recorded just 3.1 mm of rainfall in January, the second lowest since 1901, the IMD said. Northwest India consisting of seven meteorological sub-divisions is most likely to receive above-normal rainfall (more than 122 per cent of the long period average) in February. "Monthly rainfall over the country as a whole during February is most likely to be above normal (more than 119 per cent of the long period average)," Mohapatra said. Normal to above-normal rainfall is predicted over northeast and central India. Below-normal rainfall is likely over south peninsular India. Most parts of the country are likely to witness above-nor

Global warming, not El Nino was primary cause of Amazon drought: Report

Human-induced global warming, and not El Nio, was the primary driver of last year's severe drought in the Amazon that sent rivers to record lows, required deliveries of food and drinking water to hundreds of river communities and killed dozens of endangered dolphins, researchers said on Wednesday. Both climate change and El Nio contributed about equally to a reduction in rainfall. But higher global temperatures were the biggest reason for the drought, according to World Weather Attribution, an initiative that brings together climate scientists to rapidly analyze extreme events and their possible connections to climate change. The drought was agricultural, combining reduced rainfall with hotter conditions that evaporated moisture from plants and soil. It was that heat-driven evaporation that was critical in the drought's severity, said study co-author Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at the Imperial College of London. What is now about a one-in-50-year event would have been much

Snowless Himalayas: Why Kashmir, Himachal, Uttarakhand have no snow this winter

High in the northwest Himalayas, mountain passes usually blanketed in snow now lie bare. Watch the video to know why Kashmir, Himachal, Uttarakhand have no snow this winter. #elnino #kashmir #snow

Snowless NW Himalayas: El Nino leads to dry winter, may have ripple effect

High mountain passes with barely any snow, skiers hoping to slalom down white slopes disappointed and tourists calling off trips to hill destinations... the El Nino effect is playing out across the northwest Himalayas with an unusually dry winter and no immediate relief in the offing. According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), 2023 was the warmest-on-record year and the warming El Nino event is likely to further fuel the heat in 2024. The El Nino phenomenon occurs when sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are higher than average in the eastern tropical Pacific, and there is a simultaneous weakening of trade winds. The absence of snowfall is not a one-time thing but affects the annual cycle of snow. If it continues longer, it can have a huge cascading effect on socio-economic benefits. If you don't get (enough) snow, you don't get replenishment of water, it will impact agriculture, your health and can, in turn, impact your economy, glaciologist and Himalayan researcher A N

Agri growth pegged at 7-year low of 1.8% in FY24 due to poor Kharif harvest

However, some experts said the GVA numbers could stand to be revised as the initial estimates are based on extrapolation of figures for five-six months and a final picture will emerge only around Feb

Indian coast sees rise in cyclones; 2.9 mn vulnerable people in Andhra only

El Nino, Indian Ocean Dipole, and Madden-Julian Oscillationamong major reasons for rising cyclones

Global warming threshold could be hit temporarily in 2024: UK's Met Office

The average global temperature for 2024 is forecast to be between 1.34C and 1.58C above the average for the pre-industrial period of 1850-1900, it said

Sugar prices rising worldwide after bad weather damaged crops in Asia

Skyrocketing sugar prices left Ishaq Abdulraheem with few choices. Increasing the cost of bread would mean declining sales, so the Nigerian baker decided to cut his production by half. For scores of other bakers struggling to stay afloat while enduring higher costs for fuel and flour, the stratospheric sugar prices proved to be the last straw, and they closed for good. Sugar is needed to make bread, which is a staple for Nigeria's 210 million people, and for many who are struggling to put food on the table, it offers a cheap source of calories. Surging sugar prices an increase of 55 per cent in two months means fewer bakers and less bread. It is a very serious situation, Abdulraheem said. Sugar worldwide is trading at the highest prices since 2011, mainly due to lower global supplies after unusually dry weather damaged harvests in India and Thailand, the world's second- and third-largest exporters. This is just the latest hit for developing nations already coping with shortages

EL Nino event to continue until Apr 2024, influencing weather patterns: WMO

The ongoing El Nio event is expected to last at least until April 2024, influencing weather patterns and contributing to a further spike in temperatures on land and over the ocean, according to a new update from the World Meteorological Organisation. The India Meteorological Department earlier this month said EL Nio conditions -- abnormal warming of surface waters in the central Pacific Ocean -- are not likely to influence the southwest monsoon season next year. Amid intensifying El Nio conditions, India received "below-average" cumulative rainfall -- 820 mm compared to the long-period average of 868.6 mm -- during the southwest monsoon season this year. As of mid-October, sea surface temperatures and other atmospheric and oceanic indicators in the central-eastern tropical Pacific are consistent with El Nio, the warm phase of El Nio/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The El Nio event developed rapidly during July-August and reached moderate strength by September, and is likely to peak as

Global rice prices are not expected to cool down before 2025: World Bank

The Centre has already clamped down on the export of rice from India and imposed hefty import duties on some other variants, thus wiping off almost 40 per cent of supplies from the world rice markets

Cotton output estimated to be lowest in 15 years at 29.51 mn bales: CAI

The country's cotton production is estimated at 29.51 million bales in the 2023-24 marketing season, the lowest in 15 years on less planting amid the El Nino effect, the Cotton Association of India (CAI) said on Tuesday. The cotton marketing season runs from October to September. One bale of cotton is 170 kg. Cotton production is lower by 7.49 per cent from 31.89 million bales in the 2022-23 marketing season. It is also lower than the government estimate of 31.65 million bales for 2023-24. Releasing the first estimate, the CAI said, "After 2008-09, this is the lowest Indian cotton crop." Total area sown to cotton is lower by 5.5 per cent and yield is also expected to drop by up to 20 per cent due to unfavourable weather caused by El Nino, it said. The CAI has projected cotton production at 8.5 million bales in Gujarat, 7.6 million bales in Maharashtra, 3 million bales in Telangana,1.85 million bales in Karnataka, 1.8 million bales in Madhya Pradesh, and 1.6 million bales in Haryan

El Nino may not influence Indian monsoon much in 2024 season, says IMD

El Nino - the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean near South America - is associated with weaker monsoon winds and drier conditions in India

IMD predicts warmer November amid intensifying El Nino conditions

Above-normal minimum temperatures are expected in most parts of India in November, barring some areas in the northwest and west-central regions, amid strengthening El Nino conditions, the IMD said on Tuesday. At a press conference here, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said rainfall over the country as a whole in November is most likely to be normal 77-123 per cent of the long-period average. Above-normal rainfall is likely over some areas of the southernmost parts of peninsular India, most parts of northwest India, and many parts of east-central, east and northeast India, he said. EI Nino conditions are prevailing over the Equatorial Pacific Ocean and positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) conditions are prevailing over the Indian Ocean. The latest global forecasts indicate that the El Nino conditions are likely to continue during the season and positive IOD conditions are likely to weaken during the coming months, the IMD said. Mohapatra, .

India's rice export restrictions are pushing global south towards a crisis

Every rice eater in the world has felt the pinch of India's export restrictions