The 2023 hurricane season in the North Atlantic is ramping up with a record number of tropical storms underway, with no less than four systems having formed within the span of two days. This follows in the wake of the Pacific’s Hurricane Hilary making a rare track up through the Bajaread more
Multiple global heat records have been falling in rapid succession as the planetary temperature rises in response to a freshly-emerged El Niño in the equatorial Pacific, with the global average temperature soaring above 17°C (62.6°F) for three consecutive days. The trend started on July 3 when the average global temperatureread more
La Niña conditions are currently forming in the Pacific Ocean, however forecasters expect that if these conditions persist through the winter, this will only be a mild episode, compared to La Niña that have occurred in the past.
La Niña, Spanish for "little girl", occurs when sea surface temperatures drop to below normal along a band following the equator in the Eastern Pacific, the counterpart to the phenomenon of above-average sea surface temperatures known as El Niño. These two phenomena are part of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), one of the strongest drivers of climate variation in North America and around the world.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has announced that 2015-2016’s 15-month, record-breaking El Niño is over, with a 75 percent possibility for La Niña conditions to form in the Pacific Ocean by the end of autumn.
"There’s nothing left," explains NOAA Climate Prediction Center deputy director Mike Halpert. "Stick a fork in it, it’s done."
This past cycle saw record-breaking temperatures around the globe, making 2015 the hottest year on record, and setting up 2016 to break that record. It also contributed to a record hurricane season in the Pacific, and droughts in Africa and India. Massive coral bleaching and numerous red tide events, caused by high water temperatures, marred the year as well.
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