Relief from Extreme Cold/Heat – El Nino causes some serious weather problems around the world, no doubt about it, but La Nina, is not exactly a sweet little thing either. In places like the northeastern United States that are accustomed to cold and snowy winters, La Nina often makes for especially harsh winters. Strong El Ninos will typically bring warmer winters to the northern US states, which will be a relief after last winter’s Arctic conditions and polar vortex (-50⁰C).
In India, excruciating heat in May claims many lives as the mercury rises to 45⁰C, however this year Summer remained rather cool and rainy with excess monthly rainfall and maximum temperature in the thirties.
Less Damage from weaker Hurricanes/Cylones – Research shows, tornadoes seem especially numerous during springs and summers of La Nina and lesser in intensity and frequency during El Nino. In 1999, for example, while La Nina conditions prevailed in the tropical Pacific Ocean, 12 tropical storms grew big enough to earn names, eight of them became hurricanes, and five became intense hurricanes.
Cyclones in India were seen to be most severe during La Nina years of 1999 and 2013 when storms like Phailin caused massive destruction. In contrast to this, in current El Nino year no cyclones originated in the Bay of Bengal between April and May. Cyclone Nanauk originated in the Arabian Sea but wasn’t strong enough to hit any coast and rather it dissipated and died down in the sea itself.
Evades Drought - On the opposite side of the Pacific, in the US, El Nino holds out the prospect of relief for the parched western state of California. Till now the entire state is in severe or extreme drought after receiving barely a quarter of its annual rainfall, and communities have been under water rations since March. Scientists believe, here a strong El Nino would bring rain, typically double the annual average in southern California and therefore it is commonly referred to El Nino as the ‘great wet hope’.
So we asked our forecasters whether El Nino is really a bad news?
“It all depends on where you live. A powerful El Nino spells trouble for India, which often face below normal rain and drought. On the contrary it is good news for dry and drought prone California as it observes double the average rain during El Nino”, explains senior meteorologist Mahesh Palawat
It must be kept in mind that though El Nino and La Nina tend to affect seasonal conditions one way or another, but every El Nino and La Nina is different. This year El Nino is definitely stronger than Monsoon!