Happy World Environment Day!
This year’s theme “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future” comes at a critical moment as the El Nino weather pattern is forming, and is expected to cause extreme weather around the world this year, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
The WMO said there is an 80% chance that an El Nino event develops between June and August, and a 90% chance it will last until at least November. The statement is the clearest signal yet of the likelihood.
Two things make this year's El Nino forecast particularly worrying.
The first is the chance that this year's El Nino - and its impact - will be stronger than usual, defined by sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific of at least 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above average.
The second cause for concern is climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions have increased the planet's average temperature by around 1.3 C since pre-industrial times.
Typically, regions including southern South America and parts of Central Asia get more rain in an El Nino, while Central America and Australia dry out.
The phenomenon also intensifies heatwaves, including regions far from the Pacific, such as Europe. Click here to catch up on Tuesday’s newsletter that focused on Europe’s heatwave.
In fact, dry weather is disrupting crop planting across Asia, raising concerns about food supplies in the world's most populous region, and an expected severe El Nino weather pattern could inflict more damage.
From India's grain-producing northwestern plains to Australia's eastern wheat belt, and from Thailand's rice fields to Indonesia's vast palm oil plantations, hot weather and below-normal rains are hurting crops and forcing farmers to reduce planting, farmers, analysts and traders said.
Click here for the full Reuters article on El Nino’s effect on Asia’s crops.
