5
4
3
2
2
5
4
1
3
Warmer waters
Cooler waters
Warmer air
Cooler air
Warmer waters
Cooler waters
Normal year
1
El Niño year
The volume of water collecting in the west pushes the warm waters deeper into the ocean
Surface waters are warmed by the sun, and as they gather in the west of the ocean, they create warm moist air resulting in rain across Asia
At high altitudes, air travels from west to east, cooling as it does. The cyclic loop of the Pacific atmosphere is called Walker circulation
5
4
3
2
1
Atmospheric convection is increased bringing increased rain to the east of the Pacific
South and Central America experience increased wet weather. While the Pacific generates more typhoons during El Niño, fewer hurricanes develop in the Caribbean and Atlantic
SE Asia and Australia are left unseasonably dry
Upwelling in the east of the Pacific is reduced.
An El Niño event occurs when the trade winds are either reduced or perhaps even reversed, shifting warm waters from west to east
5
The westward movement of surface waters causes cooler waters from the deep to rise in the eastern Pacific in a process called upwelling, resulting in cooler and drier air
4
The ‘trade winds’ blow east to west across the Pacific
3
2
1
5
4
3
2
2
5
4
1
3
Warmer waters
Cooler waters
Warmer air
Cooler air
Warmer waters
Cooler waters
1
Normal year
El Niño year
The volume of water collecting in the west pushes the warm waters deeper into the ocean
Surface waters are warmed by the sun, and as they gather in the west of the ocean, they create warm moist air resulting in rain across Asia
At high altitudes, air travels from west to east, cooling as it does. The cyclic loop of the Pacific atmosphere is called Walker circulation
5
4
3
2
1
Atmospheric convection is increased bringing increased rain to the east of the Pacific
South and Central America experience increased wet weather. While the Pacific generates more typhoons during El Niño, fewer hurricanes develop in the Caribbean and Atlantic
SE Asia and Australia are left unseasonably dry
Upwelling in the east of the Pacific is reduced.
An El Niño event occurs when the trade winds are either reduced or perhaps even reversed, shifting warm waters from west to east
5
The westward movement of surface waters causes cooler waters from the deep to rise in the eastern Pacific in a process called upwelling, resulting in cooler and drier air
4
The ‘trade winds’ blow east to west across the Pacific
3
2
1
2
5
4
1
3
Warmer waters
Cooler waters
El Niño year
Warmer air
Cooler air
Warmer waters
Cooler waters
5
4
3
2
1
Normal year
The volume of water collecting in the west pushes the warm waters deeper into the ocean
Surface waters are warmed by the sun, and as they gather in the west of the ocean, they create warm moist air resulting in rain across Asia
At high altitudes, air travels from west to east, cooling as it does. The cyclic loop of the Pacific atmosphere is called Walker circulation
5
4
3
2
1
Atmospheric convection is increased bringing increased rain to the east of the Pacific
South and Central America experience increased wet weather. While the Pacific generates more typhoons during El Niño, fewer hurricanes develop in the Caribbean and Atlantic
SE Asia and Australia are left unseasonably dry
Upwelling in the east of the Pacific is reduced.
An El Niño event occurs when the trade winds are either reduced or perhaps even reversed, shifting warm waters from west to east
5
The westward movement of surface waters causes cooler waters from the deep to rise in the eastern Pacific in a process called upwelling, resulting in cooler and drier air
4
The ‘trade winds’ blow east to west across the Pacific
3
2
1
5
4
3
2
2
5
4
1
3
Warmer waters
Cooler waters
El Niño year
Warmer air
Cooler air
Warmer waters
Cooler waters
1
Normal year
The volume of water collecting in the west pushes the warm waters deeper into the ocean
Surface waters are warmed by the sun, and as they gather in the west of the ocean, they create warm moist air resulting in rain across Asia
At high altitudes, air travels from west to east, cooling as it does. The cyclic loop of the Pacific atmosphere is called Walker circulation
5
4
3
2
1
Atmospheric convection is increased bringing increased rain to the east of the Pacific
South and Central America experience increased wet weather. While the Pacific generates more typhoons during El Niño, fewer hurricanes develop in the Caribbean and Atlantic
SE Asia and Australia are left unseasonably dry
Upwelling in the east of the Pacific is reduced.
An El Niño event occurs when the trade winds are either reduced or perhaps even reversed, shifting warm waters from west to east
5
The westward movement of surface waters causes cooler waters from the deep to rise in the eastern Pacific in a process called upwelling, resulting in cooler and drier air
4
The ‘trade winds’ blow east to west across the Pacific
3
2
1