A Double Whammy׃ Warning issued to the whole world. It'll wreak chaos, literally

A Double Whammy׃ Warning issued to the whole world. It'll wreak chaos, literally

World governments must prepare for even more extreme weather and record temperatures in the coming months. This was warned by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations agency for weather, climate and water resources, declaring the beginning of the warming phenomenon known as El Niño.

El Niño is a natural climate pattern in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean that brings warmer than average sea surface temperatures and has a major impact on weather around the globe, affecting billions of people, Blic reported.

It takes place in the context of a climate changed by human activities.

"The occurrence of El Niño will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and causing extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

He pointed out that the WMO's announcement of El Niño "is a signal to governments around the world to mobilize preparations to limit the impact (of the phenomenon) on our health, ecosystems and economies."

"To save lives and livelihoods, governments must establish early warning systems and prepare for further disruptive weather this year," Taalas said. The past three years have been some of the warmest on record, even during the La Niña phase, El Niño's "sister" characterized by cooler-than-average ocean temperatures, CNN writes.

The "Double Whammy" of a very strong El Niño and human-caused warming from burning fossil fuels made 2016 the hottest year on record, according to the WMO. But as they pointed out, the first El Niño to develop in seven years could lead to this year or the next breaking the heat record set in 2016.

The WMO said there was a 90 percent chance of El Niño continuing in the second half 2023, with moderate strength. In addition to increased ocean warming, El Niño events are typically associated with increased precipitation in parts of South America, the southern United States, the Horn of Africa, and central Asia. But they can also intensify severe droughts, heat waves and wildfires in Australia, Central America and northern South America.

Other impacts include dangerous tropical cyclones in the Pacific and mass bleaching of fragile coral reefs. In India, a major rice producer, El Niño can weaken the monsoon that brings the rainfall the country relies on to recharge so-called outcrops, or aquifers, and grow crops.

This year's El Niño could also threaten U.S. economic growth, potentially affecting everything from food prices to winter clothing sales, a recent study found. The survey attributed a loss of $5.7 trillion (US trillion) in global income to the 1997-98 El Niño, and $4.1 trillion to the 1982-83 El Niño.