El Niño will end soon – MK

Vilfand: El Niño is ending, the transition to the neutral phase will begin in May

The El Niño climate phenomenon is coming to an end and a smooth transition to a neutral phase will begin from late April to mid-May. Roman Vilfand, scientific director of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia, reports this.

“At the end of April – mid-May, we expect a gradual transition to a neutral phase, which has great implications for global temperatures,” he said.

For eight consecutive months, average global temperatures have been exceptionally high since July 2023. However, the effect of the phenomenon on the temperature in Russia was insignificant: for example, in January the temperature in the European part of the country was 3-4 degrees below normal.

Vilfand stressed that attention to El Niño is critical because rising global temperatures contribute to an increase in dangerous phenomena such as tropical cyclones. However, this effect is not nearly as noticeable at temperate latitudes.

El Niño, a natural phenomenon, occurs approximately every two to seven years and typically lasts between 9 and 12 months. It is associated with rising water temperatures in the central and eastern parts of the Pacific Ocean. El Niño, which began in the second half of 2023, has already led to shallowing of the Panama Canal, logistics problems and supply delays.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also warned of possible increased tensions due to El Niño in areas of access to resources such as water and farmland, as well as the risk of food security problems.