El Niño returns this year, what can the world expect?

Jan 31, 2023

El Niño can increase wildfire risks in the southern hemisphere. Image: REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Paloma Trascasa-Castro

PhD Candidate in Climate Science, Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, University of Leeds

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A bar chart showing official NOAA CPC ENSO probabilities, January 2023.

Probability of El Niño (red), La Niña (blue) or ENSO-neutral conditions developing during the coming months. Image: The Conversation.

A graph showing global surface temperature each year since the 1950s.

As the world has warmed, the hottest years have occurred during El Niño events. Image: The Conversation.

During El Niño, scientists expect higher temperatures and increased fire risk in Australia. Image: Unsplash/ Landon Parenteau

A woman standing in the Amazon rainforest.

Scientists in 2019 studying the damage from Amazon forest fires that burned during the 2015/16 El Niño. Image: The Conversation.

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