A recent study by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has shown that air currents and storms play a crucial role in shaping the climate during El Niño and La Niña phenomena.
Drought scene in the grasslands of Duri, New South Wales, Australia. (Image: AFP/TTXVN).
The study, published on July 31, analyzed the significant differences in weather conditions in Australia during November 2020 and November 2021, despite both years experiencing La Niña. While 2021 saw wet and cool weather, 2020 endured an unusually dry and hot spell.
La Niña and El Niño are two opposing climate patterns in the Pacific that affect weather worldwide. Carly Tozer, the lead author of the report from CSIRO, stated that the new research indicates that while La Niña and El Niño can be predictive factors for climate trends, other elements such as storms and air currents can also influence weather conditions.
The research discovered that vortex winds, which are fast and strong air currents in the upper troposphere, are the deciding factor behind these differences. The presence of these air currents contributed to bringing wet weather to Australia in 2021, whereas their absence resulted in the dry weather experienced in 2020. Researcher Tozer noted that upper tropospheric air currents could “control” weather patterns and affect rainfall in the regions they pass through.
Scientists emphasize that these findings will help improve the accuracy of weather forecasts and predictions of extreme phenomena in the future, particularly in the context of climate change.
