March 31, 2023, 10:53 PM
March 31, 2023, 10:53 PM
The director of the International Center for Research on the fEl Niño phenomenon (Ciifen)Juan José Nieto, explained that the sea conditions in the rest of the western South American countries are “regular” and that the warming of the waters will be “gradual”.
“El Niño expected in most South America is of moderate intensity, but that does not mean that the impacts will also be moderate. It will depend on each country and each area,” said the expert during the XXII Western South American Climate Forum, in Santiago.
El Niño is a phenomenon that causes abnormal warming of the sea in the eastern Pacific Ocean, caused by the inrush of warm surface watersand mainly affects the South American coasts, eventually causing intense torrential rains.
Intense rains in the north of South America, drought in the Southern Cone
“We recommend that the authorities be in continuous contact with the meteorological services of each country and, also, if there is any alarm, to take precautions without waiting for the facts ratify any bad forecasts”he added.
South America is suffering from an agonizing drought that lasts for years and that, in some countries like Chile or Argentinahas affected sectors such as agriculture, with reduced harvests and loss of fertile land.
In recent months, the phenomenon of La Niña established itself in South America, with the opposite effect to El Niño: cooling of the seas and, consequently, less rain, which aggravated the lack of water in some areas. In early March, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officially announced the end of La Niña.
