Countries Are Bracing Themselves As Looming El Niño Could Be The Strongest Since 1998; Already Affecting Some Nations Hard
The 1998 El Niño is one to be remembered by the people as it reportedly resulted to 20,000 deaths and $100 billion worth of damages. At present, many nations are already experiencing the accumulating effects of El Niño on the economy and quality of human life.
The New Scientist noted on Wednesday that El Niño is a result of weakening winds blowing west to the Pacific and warm water spreading toward South America, causing a large portion of Asia and Australia to dry out, while the Americas are immersed on rain. This phenomenon develops between two to seven years and could last from nine months to two years.
The International Federation of the Red Cross in sub-Saharan Africa is already preparing for massive floods, which is expected to cause food shortages. Some areas in the continent are already working on improving their drainage systems, while others are preparing relocation areas and formulating coordination plans with local authorities.
The Guardian reported on Oct. 1 that El Niño is set to cause hunger to at least 10 million of the poorest people worldwide due to declining crops. The Oxfam charity noted several countries are already experiencing "major emergency," including Ethiopia who have 4.5 million people needing food from a prolonged drought.
Malawi's corn production was also greatly affected by floods followed by extreme drought, while Papua New Guinea's crops have died in heat in some parts of the country or have already frosted in the highlands.
In the Asian region, not only are they plagued by shriveling crops from the extreme heat, but people are already being affected by the dengue epidemic, noted Futurity on Wednesday.
"Large dengue epidemics occur unexpectedly, which can overburden the health care systems," said Willem G. van Panhuis, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Public Health. "Our analysis shows that elevated temperatures can create the ideal circumstance for large-scale dengue epidemics to spread across a wide region. The ability to predict and prepare for these epidemics should lead to more effective disease surveillance and control efforts."
El Niño is expected to worsen in the coming months, with its peak expected on February. Tropical storms will be experience din some regions, including Africa and South America and coral bleaching may be observed around December.
"The worst is yet to come," warned Wenju Cai from Australia's national research agency, CSIRO.
