![]() ![]() ![]() Wind patterns are changing over the eastern Pacific near Chile. If El Niño develops, climatologists estimate it could add an extra 0.2℃ to global temperatures, which would nudge some areas past 1.5℃ of warming for the first time.Īlmost all the extra heat from the Sun trapped by greenhouse gases has gone into the oceans. Now we’re likely to see the heat roar back. La Niña brought three years of cooler conditions, while global warming continued apace. When you run your air conditioner, you’re masking the heat outside. It’s likely we’re set for an El Niño, which tends to bring hotter, dryer weather to Australia. But now the air conditioner is turned off. ![]() It’s like the Pacific Ocean’s air conditioner is running. During this cycle, cooler water from deep in the ocean upwells to the surface. But there’s an immediate cause too: the rare triple-dip La Niña is over. What’s going on? Climate change is the big picture – nine-tenths of all heat trapped by greenhouse gases goes into the oceans. Since mid-March, the global average sea surface temperature is over 21℃ – the highest since satellite records began. The heat this year is likely to break records. Large swathes of the world’s oceans are warm. ![]()
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