The surface of Earth is 70% water - so it is no surprise that changes in the oceanic ecosystem adversely affect the environment in which we live.
La Niña (Span. "the girl") and its counterpart El Niño (Span. "the boy") are the names given to naturally occurring phenomena that take place over the oceans.
La Niña consists of cold water in the Pacific Ocean that rises to the surface along the coast of South America. Likewise, El Niño is the unusual rise of warm water in the Pacific that runs along the coast of S. America. So what does this mean for us terrestrial beings?
El Niño and La Niña generally cycle in and out at a (generally) regular pattern, or so we thought.
Climate change (also called "global warming") from the burning of fossil fuels and excessive release of greenhouse gases has altered temperature of the air. For the most part, the average temperature of the world is increasing and as a consequence, polar ice caps are melting.
Obviously, the melting of polar ice caps changes the thermal characteristics of oceans. More cold water is being added to oceans and it is forming an artificially stimulated La Niña.
This isn't good news. The unpredictability of these oceanic changes will most likely interfere with marine animals - as some use temperature to gauge their relative location during migration routes.
Not only that, but La Niña has caused extensive flooding in many parts of the world - some of the worst damage caused by flooding. Colombian President Santos said that it has been the "worst natural disaster."
Hurricane season in the United States has seen a sharp increase of the number of hurricanes formed over the Gulf of Mexico.
Barometric pressure affected by the oceans leave many parts of Asia suck with more severe and longer winters. South Korea alone reported snowfall up to 31.5 inches (80 cm) and average temperatures far below the climate average on any given day.
Countries usually unaffected by La Niña, such as Sri Lanka, had notable signs of weather change. So much so that an evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people was mandated by the government.
On the flip side of the scale, La Niña gave farmlands in the southern US less rain and severe drought. No doubt this turn in weather affected crop production in all states.
Al Jazeera finishes this article with:
However, perhaps most devastating are the consequences for eastern Africa. With La Nina steadily strengthening, the November rains are likely to fail once more.A continent already busy with it's own issues doesn't need this dramatic weather change to interfere. However, Mother Nature has her own ideas, and that's the sad truth.
This would have dire consequences for the millions of people who live in the region, many of whom are already struggling to survive.
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