El Niño to Develop Around Mid-Year: WMO

Geneva (PNA/Xinhua) — The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Monday said that after more than five months the sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean have remained at near-borderline to weak El Niño levels, a majority of models predicts El Niño to develop around mid-year.

According to WMO’s El Nino updates, tropical Pacific Ocean surface temperature anomalies from October 2014 to present have been 0.5 to 1.0 Celsius degrees above normal, which have approached or exceeded El Niño thresholds.

El Niño, the Spanish word for boy, is a warming of sea surface in the Pacific that occurs every four to 12 years.

As of early March 2015, model outlooks suggest ocean temperatures will remain warmer than average, and possibly in excess of weak El Niño thresholds, into the second quarter of 2015.

Based on that, WMO predicted El Niño to develop around mid-year.

Furthermore, WMO noted the latest outlooks from climate models and expert opinion suggest approximately equal chances for either warm-neutral or weak El Niño ocean conditions from March through May 2015. (PNA/Xinhua) FPV/EBP