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El nino effect
What do you understand by El nino effect and how it is effecting to the environment.
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El Nino is a situation that occurs when the water temperature of the Pacific Ocean becomes warmer than usual. The increase in ocean temperature has an intense impact on the environment. It has a magnificent impact on the weather patterns by inducing severe weather worldwide for about 1 year. This was first notified by South American fishermen where they noticed periods of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean in the 1600s. It was assigned the name El Nino de Navidad, as El Nino typically peaks in the month of December.
El Nino can alter the weather significantly. The warmer waters make the Pacific jet stream to move south of its neutral position. With this transformation, areas in the northern U.S. and Canada are dryer and warmer than usual. But in the U.S. Gulf Coast and Southeast, these periods get more humid than usual and have prolonged flooding.
El Nino also has an everlasting effect on marine life off the Pacific coast. During regular conditions, upwelling draws water from the depths to the surface; this water is chilly and nutrient-rich. During El Nino, upwelling lessens or stops altogether. Without the nutrients from the deep, there is few phytoplankton off the coast. This concerns fish that eat phytoplankton and, in fact, affects everything that eats fish. The warmer waters can also bring tropical species, like yellowtail and albacore tuna, into areas that are commonly too cold.
Due to flooding and drought in various agricultural centers of the world, El Nino can also be the cause of the reduction of supply in certain crops including sugar, coffee, rice, and cacao. As we know that, a decrease in supply induces an increase in the demand for that product, because of which the amount of that product also increases. El Nino cycles had seen these products rise in cost by as much as 10% due to a reduction in the supply of these crops.
