El Nino to develop around mid-year: WMO
Xinhua, March 17, 2015 Adjust font size:
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Monday said that after more than five months the sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean have remained at near-borderline to weak El Nino levels, a majority of models predicts El Nino to develop around mid-year.
According to WMO's El Nino updates, tropical Pacific Ocean surface temperature anomalies from October 2014 to present have been 0.5 to 1.0 Celsius degrees above normal, which have approached or exceeded El Nino thresholds.
El Nino, the Spanish word for boy, is a warming of sea surface in the Pacific that occurs every four to 12 years.
As of early March 2015, model outlooks suggest ocean temperatures will remain warmer than average, and possibly in excess of weak El Nino thresholds, into the second quarter of 2015.
Based on that, WMO predicted El Nino to develop around mid-year.
Furthermore, WMO noted the latest outlooks from climate models and expert opinion suggest approximately equal chances for either warm-neutral or weak El Nino ocean conditions from March through May 2015. Endit