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El Niño is a weather phenomena which tends to occur in tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean. It affects the region across the Pacific from New Guinea to South America. During an El Niño season, which occurs on average every 2-7 years, a shift in ocean currents and winds brings warm water in a westerly direction, displacing the usual cold water that comes up from the ocean depths. As well as affecting marine life, the El Niño has an effect on weather patterns. Under normal conditions, in the tropics warm oceans tend to be accompanied by heavy rains, resulting in heavy rains in the warm west Pacific while the cooler east Pacific receives far less rainfall. This is reversed during an El Niño, when the ocean temperature gradient from one side of the Pacific to the other weakens. Warmer than usual ocean temperatures cause droughts in the west, while the unusually warm eastern waters bring heavy rains and floods to the Pacific coast of South America, which is usually much drier. It's all a matter of interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere. Changes in sea surface temperatures causes a shift in air pressure which, in turn, can result in climatic anomalies, such as severe droughts, flooding and even cyclones. One of the effects is that the normal circulation patterns over the Pacific are disrupted, and moisture-bearing trade winds weaken, whilst drier westerlies increase.

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El Nino is a weather pattern that forms in the?

El Niño is a weather pattern that forms in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It is characterized by warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures, which can lead to changes in global weather patterns, including increased rainfall in some regions and drought in others.


How does el nino affect ecosystem?

El nino is the warm ocean current. It affects the ocean ecosystem by changing the climate of those regions through which it passes. Change in its direction causes heavy rains at some places and drought at other places.


Does El Nino cause tornadoes?

Not directly. El Niño has been linked to increased tornado activity in some areas, but tornadoes will occur every year, regardless of whether there is an El Niño. Some of the most active tornadoes years in the U.S. (such as 1974 and 2011) have been linked with La Niña.


Can a drought cause wells to dry up if the level of water table falls?

Yes, during a drought, the lack of rainfall can cause the water table to drop, potentially leading to wells drying up if they are reliant on that water source. This can also be exacerbated by increased demand on wells during drought conditions.


What are the main causes for drought?

The main causes of drought are lack of precipitation, high temperatures leading to evaporation, and changes in weather patterns such as El Niño. Human activities like deforestation, over-extraction of water, and climate change can also exacerbate drought conditions.

Related Questions

What does an El Nino effect?

Drought.


What are the causes of drought in the Philippines?

El Nino


What is El Nino and how does it affect South America?

La Nina brings drought to the continent. El Nino on the other hand brings floods, rain, rising rivers and misery.


El nino can cause?

earth guakes


What weather system might be occurring if Australia is experiencing a drought and south America is flooding?

El Nino


What places were hit by el nino?

Cause it want to..


How does wind cause upwelling in the oceans?

El Nino


What weather system might be occurring if Australia is experiencing drought and part of south America are flooded?

El Niño


What is synonym of el nino?

The opposite may be like a drought or similar a summer monsoon that causes rain and a winter monsoon which causes drought so there are some differences and similarity's


How does El Nino affect the ecosystem?

El Nino can be the cause of fish and other marine life leaving their home due to the lack of water in the affected area. El Nino also causes dramatic temperature fluctuations in the water.


Does el nino cause precipitation?

The occurrance of an El Nino event causes flash flooding and storms in areas such as Sout America, however in Australia, it is known to be the cause of droughts and dry seasons.


What happens to rainfall in Australia and off the coast of Peru during an El nino?

Along the coast of Peru, El Nino generally brings wet weather during December-February and above-normal temperatures throughout the year (as long as the El Nino exists).In Australia, El Nino means dry, and drought is not uncommon during these episodes, particularly in northern and eastern areas. El Nino has less effect on the southwestern quarter of the continent. In addition, El Nino summers (December-February) tend to be hotter than normal in Tasmania and nearby southeastern Australia.