La Nina, EL Nino & ENSO

▪️ La Nina is a natural ocean-atmospheric phenomenon. It is marked by cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator. It means ‘little girl’ in Spanish.

▪️ It is the opposite of El Nino (meaning ‘little boy’), that is marked by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator.

▪️ Both, La Nina and El Nino are part of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. ENSO is characterised by opposing warm and cool phases of oceanic and atmospheric conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean.

▪️ El Nino usually causes a decrease in precipitation and has been found to cause drought-like conditions in India. On the other hand, La Nina causes an increase in precipitation. It also causes formation of low-pressure areas.