The link between El Niño and heatwaves is complicated. But what we can say is this summer's strong El Niño conditions are likely to bring more heatwaves to much of Australia's north and east, writes Sarah Perkins.
The projected upsurge of severe El Niño and La Niña events will cause an increase in storms – and extreme coastal flooding and erosion – in populated regions across the Pacific, a multi-agency study has found.
The coming El Niño and La Niña double bill could be the strongest since 1998, affecting a vast swathe of the planet from Africa, through Australasia and all the way to the Americas, write Wenju Cai, Agus Santoso and Guojian Wang.
This impending El Niño could mark the switch into a new phase that would see global warming accelerate, write Agus Santoso, Andréa S. Taschetto, Matthew England and Shayne McGregor.
When a positive Indian Ocean dipole is coupled with an El Niño event, rainfall decreases dramatically across Australia, and such an event could be on the way, write Agus Santoso and Wenju Cai.
It is only May and summer is seven months away, but climate researchers are seeing the beginnings of what could be the most powerful El Niño event in close to two decades.
Unusual El Niños, like those that led to the extraordinary super El Niño years of 1982 and 1997, will occur twice as often under even modest global warming scenarios.
The origins of the El Niño climatic events that usually bring extended hot, dry conditions to much of Australia are detectable up to 18 months beforehand, a new study has found.
