The evidence of climate change becomes difficult to ignore when recent data reveals that ocean water temperatures have reached an unprecedented high. This record-breaking milestone was reached in March 2023, coinciding with the expected departure of the current La Niña phase and the impending arrival of an El Niño phase.
The concerning aspect of this data is that the record high sea surface temperatures occurred during a La Niña phase, which typically leads to lower readings. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC), a division of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), recently declared the end of the La Niña phase.
Additionally, the CPC predicts neutral conditions for the spring and early summer, with the El Niño phase likely to establish itself by late summer or early fall.
The advent of the El Niño pattern brings with it a range of adverse climate impacts, including more powerful typhoons, extreme heatwaves, increased wildfire risks, and threats to fragile coral reefs. This is because the transition to an El Niño phase usually entails higher temperatures worldwide, which has implications for global weather patterns.