More than 50% chance of La Nina in coming months, WMO says

Arid wheat fields and dead cows: a snapshot of Argentina's worst drought in decades

A chaja opens its wings near teros standing in the Navarro lagoon, which dried up due to the climate phenomenon La Nina, in Navarro, in Buenos Aires province, Argentina December 5, 2022. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File Photo

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There is more than a 50% chance of La Niña developing in the next three months, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday, but if it does it will be relatively weak and short-lived.

The La Niña pattern involves the cooling of ocean surface temperatures and could break a spell of high temperatures that are set to make 2024 the world's warmest since records began.

Forecasts show that there is a 55% likelihood of a transition to La Niña between December 2024 and February 2025, the WMO said in a statement sent to journalists. This was down from a forecast 60% possibility from the WMO in September.

"Even if a La Niña event does emerge, its short-term cooling impact will be insufficient to counterbalance the warming effect of record heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said.

This article was produced by Reuters news agency. It has not been edited by Global South World.

By Reuters