El Niño Now Lasts Longer Hits Harder Scientists Warn of Deepening Global Crisis
El Niño, the notorious climate disruptor, is evolving and not in a good way. Once known for its irregular but relatively short-lived bouts of weather chaos, new research reveals that both El Niño and La Niña are now persisting longer, bringing amplified and prolonged destruction to ecosystems, economies and communities worldwide.
Triggered by shifts in Pacific Ocean temperatures, El Niño and its cold-phase counterpart La Niña have long reshaped global weather drying out regions like Africa and Australia, flooding the Americas, and damaging agriculture and fisheries. The 1997-98 El Niño alone caused an estimated $5.7 trillion in global income losses.
But what's emerging now is far more alarming.
A recent study combining fossilised coral records and cutting-edge climate models revea...