▲ El Niño file photo (The photo above is not related to the content of this article.)
Warnings have been issued that the El Niño developing in the Pacific Ocean is highly likely to be the strongest on record, which could make next year the hottest year in global history.
Adam Scaife, head of long-range forecasting at the UK Met Office, told the BBC on the 20th local time, "I have never seen a signal for El Niño this strong."
He emphasized that when combining El Niño with the effects of human-induced climate change, 2027 is highly likely to become the hottest year on record.
El Niño is a phenomenon where sea surface temperatures near the equator rise above normal, causing major changes in weather patterns. It occurs in cycles of about 2 to 7 years and lasts for a year.
When El Niño occurs, the trade winds blowing from east to west across the Pacific weaken or change direction, and warm seawater moves eastward.
In this process, heat from the ocean is released into the atmosphere, altering global temperatures and precipitation patterns.
El Niño has been pointed to as the cause of extreme weather phenomena in various parts of the world.
Already, India is experiencing less rainfall than normal despite being in its monsoon (rainy) season, and while it is hurricane season in the Atlantic and Caribbean, changing wind patterns have kept hurricane activity relatively quiet.
The UK Met Office stated that current sea surface temperatures are more than 2°C higher than normal and forecasted that they could rise to 3°C above normal in the second half of this year when El Niño peaks.
Some scientists also say that sea surface temperatures could rise up to 4°C above normal.
If sea surface temperatures rise as observed, this would be the strongest El Niño phenomenon since the 19th century.
Dr. Nick Dunstone of the UK Met Office projected that record-high winter temperatures caused by El Niño could lead to a rise in global average temperatures the following year, suggesting that next year could surpass 2024 to become the hottest.
(Photo: Yonhap News TV capture, Yonhap News)
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