|
The weather phenomenon known as El Niño caused significant damage in the United States earlier this year. On the West Coast and in the South, tornadoes, floods, mudslides, and torrential rains destroyed property and crops and killed dozens of people. Elsewhere conditions were unseasonably dry. Hawaii, for example, operated under a state of emergency caused by a severe drought.
In much of the country, El Niño brought milder winter conditions—conditions that allowed millions of insect eggs and larvae to survive the winter. As a result, the number of insects was unusually high last summer.
The effects of El Niño were much more severe in other parts of the world. In Malaysia and Indonesia, severe forest fires broke out last year due to lack
|
|
of rain. In the Amazon rain forest, fires swept out of control because of the dry conditions caused by El Niño (see page 19). In Peru, so much rain fell that a new lake was created.
El Niño refers to the warm phase of a temperature change in the water and atmosphere of the Pacific Ocean. El Niños occur irregularly, about every 2 to 7 years, and usually last 8 to 10 months. A cold phase, known as La Niña, that lasts 3 to 7 years can follow El Niños.
- What is El Nino?Answer
- What effects did El Nino have in the United States earlier this year?Answer
|
