La Niña and El Niño: two natural phenomena that shape our planet's climate

The "kitchen" in which the climate is created is very complex. Even now, when scientists can observe the Earth from space, many mysteries remain. Two climatic phenomena are considered to be one of the most mysterious phenomena - La Niña and El Niño. They have opposite effects and have always created balance before. But now there has been a predominance of one over the other, and this creates problems.

El Niño is Spanish for "boy", and La Niña means "girl". These phenomena were discovered at the beginning of the 20th century by the English physicist Gilbert Walker. He believed that these were phenomena of regional significance, but everything turned out to be much larger and more interesting. The name El Niño was given to the process when the heated surface waters of the equatorial Pacific Ocean are shifting eastward. As a result, good and warm weather prevails in the eastern and central parts of the ocean.

It seems to be very good, but it is not. Scientists have found that El Niño causes mass death of fish and birds. Air currents carry away with them huge masses of moisture. It hits the coasts of Chile and Peru, causing natural disasters there. Week-long downpours, mudflows, floods cause great damage to nature and people in these regions of South America.

La Niña is the exact opposite of El Niño. This phenomenon cools the ocean surface in the same central and eastern regions. And again, this does not lead to anything good, and people again suffer from bad weather. Droughts are hitting South America this time around. The two antagonists balance each other, creating a balance in the climate. At the same time, they affect not only the Pacific region, as was previously thought, but also affect the climate of the entire planet.

Unfortunately, these phenomena do not have a clear schedule and replace each other almost haphazardly. Meteorologists have found that the "boy" is activated every 3-7 years. The absence of certain deadlines leads to the fact that people are not ready for the next natural disasters. It is also bad that El Niño can affect the climate for up to 18 months.

"Girl" is a rarer guest on our planet. But it has an impact on the climate for more than 2 years. La Niña dominated in 2022. As you know, this period was especially rich in showers and floods in Southeast Asia, while most of South America languished without precipitation. Scientists predict that La Niña will be replaced by El Niño in the summer of 2023 and everything will change dramatically.

With the advent of the "male" phenomenon, a strong heat wave will begin, which will have a bad effect on agriculture. The summer of 2023, as well as the winter of 2024, will be abnormally warm. You should not rejoice at this, since such a change in the weather will inevitably lead to natural disasters.