Weather & Science
La Niña Emerges in Pacific Triggering Global Weather Changes
- Cycle makes California dry, brings storms to Pacific Northwest
- South American croplands face rising drought risks from event
A worker prunes coffee plants affected by drought in Pedregulho, Brazil, on Sept. 18.
Photographer: Tuane Fernandes/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
After months of anticipation, a weather-changing La Niña has developed in the equatorial Pacific further adding to drought worries in California and the southern US, as well as the croplands in South America, the US Climate Prediction Center said.
Ocean surface temperatures dropped to 0.9F of a degree (0.5C) below normal across the parts of the Pacific tracked by the US, said Michelle L’Heureux, a forecaster at the Climate Prediction Center. In order to declare a La Niña, part of a larger cycle that includes El Niño, the ocean has to cool along with changes in the atmosphere.