2023-07-04 17:28:47
The El Niño phenomenon, which has been officially declared today by consensus of the scientific community, may accentuate food insecurity in certain affected regions, as well as increase the burden of infectious diseases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.
“By altering weather conditions, El Niño will have a very strong impact on certain health factors. We are especially concerned about food insecurity and the increase in moderate and acute malnutrition, especially among the most vulnerable,” Dr. María Neira, director of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the WHO, told reporters.
He also pointed out that there may be an increase in waterborne diseases, such as cholera, either as a consequence of the scarcity of this element in certain environments or due to the damage that health care and sanitation infrastructure may suffer in places where there is floods or cyclones.
The El Niño weather pattern typically occurs every two to seven years and usually lasts nine to twelve months, during which there is a gradual warming of the Pacific Ocean that causes intense rainfall in certain regions of the world and drought in others.
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The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said today that the start of El Niño is a fact after confirming that for the first time in seven years conditions have been detected in the tropical Pacific Ocean that, very likely, will cause an increase in temperatures and alterations weather this year.
Neira said that in these circumstances it is also possible to see an increase in diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, such as malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever.
The WHO is strengthening the response capacities of the countries that are anticipated to be the most affected, particularly in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
For this, Neira said that the reserves of sanitary material that will be necessary to face infectious outbreaks or malnutrition situations are being renewed.
It’s official: El Niño and the rise in temperatures this year
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) officially declared the El Niño phenomenon today after confirming that for the first time in seven years conditions have been detected in the tropical Pacific Ocean that will most likely cause an increase in temperatures and meteorological disturbances this year. .
“The occurrence of El Niño will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking new temperature records and unleashing more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean,” warned WMO Secretary-General and meteorologist Petteri Taalas.
The rise in temperatures will occur above all in the next three months and will persist until the end of 2023, with an intensity that “will be at least moderate”, but it cannot be ruled out that it could be a severe phenomenon.
The meteorologist and specialist in El Niño at the WMO, Wilfran Moufouma, indicated that among the alterations that are predicted are drought conditions in Australia, America and, specifically, South America.
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The WMO recalled that this is the first time since the 2015-2016 period that the scientific community agrees that the world is facing an El Niño phenomenon and that this declaration is “the signal for governments around the world start preparations to curb the consequences of this phenomenon on our health, ecosystems and economies”.
The El Niño of that period coincided with 2016 being the hottest year globally on record.
The conditions of the El Niño phenomenon observed between 2018-2019 did not meet all the characteristics expected of this climatic event at a global level and scientists did not reach an agreement to declare that it was El Niño, Moufouma explained in a conference press in geneva
Faced with this situation, the WMO has stressed the importance of proper functioning of early warning systems, which can “save lives and livelihoods.”
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“This is another wake-up call or an early warning that we are still not going in the right direction to limit warming in accordance with the final objectives established in 2015, in the Paris Agreement in order to reduce the impacts of climate change”, said the body, which functions as the scientific arm of the UN.
The El Niño weather pattern typically occurs every two to seven years and usually lasts nine to twelve months, during which there is a gradual warming of the Pacific Ocean, causing heavy rainfall in certain regions of the world and drought in others.
Between February and May 2023, the surface in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean experienced a significant rise in temperatures, going from -0.44 to +0.47 degrees Celsius.
The National Meteorological and Hydraulic Services have committed to the WMO to closely follow the evolution of El Niño conditions and the consequences that may derive from it.
Source: EFE
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