El Niño phenomenon: India to witness below-normal monsoon rainfall this year

NEW DELHI: It is reported that the monsoon rainfall will be below normal this year. This is believed to be due to the 'El Niño' ​​phenomenon, which causes temperatures to drop in the Pacific Ocean.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US national weather agency, released a report in this regard. The report says that El Niño will strengthen in the months of June and August. As a result, the heat in India may increase, and the monsoon may weaken, the report warns. According to the observations of NOAA's Climate Prediction Centre (CPC), the probability of El Niño between June and August is 62 percent and it may increase to 80 per cent in the following months.

El Niño is a phenomenon that warms the ocean surface in the central-eastern part of the equator. El Niño can occur every two to seven years. During El Niño, India has experienced reduced monsoon rainfall. El Niño has occurred 14 times since 1980. Nine of these times, monsoon rainfall was below normal. The temperature difference in the Pacific Ocean can lead to a decrease in the strength of monsoon winds. Meanwhile, despite the El Niño in 1997, India had a normal monsoon season.