El Nino

Hoodies sell out in Tonga as El Niño brings wintry chill

The island has experienced unusually cold weather through July and Tonga Meteorological Services (TMS) recorded a low of 9.3 degrees Celsius at the Lapaha village weather station at the end of the month. The country’s record low of 8.7C was set in September 1994.

Better known for its warm weather and beaches, the archipelago in the south Pacific ocean usually sees winter temperatures in the range of 18C to 21C.

More cool weather is forecast for August with TMS predicting temperatures could sink to 10C on some parts of the island next week.

Tonga under El Nino alert

The Pacific region is forecast to experience an El Niño event, while some scientists have already said it has started.

Tonga's meteorology service said the likely El Nino impacts for Tonga include cooler temperatures at night, less rainfall over the next six to 12 months, and more tropical cyclones next season.

The next tropical cyclone season runs from November this year to April 2024.

The meteorology service has made recommendations for the next several months, including using rainwater wisely and the agriculture sector preparing for drought.

     

Warning of more cyclones for parts of Pacific as El Niño threatens

The region is forecast to experience an El Niño event, while some scientists have already said it has started.

La Niña is the cooling phase whereas El Niño is the warming phase of the waters in the eastern Pacific, off the coast of South America.

NIWA meteorologist Ben Noll said it means high levels of rainfall is likely for some places like Kiribati - that has been in a long drought - while parts of the western Pacific like Papua New Guinea should be dryer than normal.

Forecasters: Pacific hurricane season depends on El Nino

Chris Brenchley, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Central Pacific Hurricane Center, said at a news conference Wednesday that the region can expect anywhere from five to eight tropical cyclones from June through November.

Brenchley said there is an equal chance of El Nino and neutral conditions in the Pacific this season. 

El Nino is a natural warming of the Pacific that alters weather worldwide.

The average number of storms per year since 1970 is 4.6, but the past four seasons have had above-average activity.

Pacific nations may face droughts, floods if El Niño develops later this year

Conversely, the Eastern Pacific including countries such as Kiribati, Nauru, Northern Cook Islands and Tuvalu would have the opposite effects, with higher rainfall likely to lead to flooding, damage to roads and bridges, and pollution of water sources.

The alert was released this month by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP), a regional body for the protection and sustainable development of the region's natural resources. Twenty-two Pacific nations are members.

2016 El Niño a humanitarian crisis, says new climate justice report: ActionAid

This has occurred in a year that has also seen record levels of CO2 and the planet’s hottest ever year.

El Niño blamed for out-of-season central Pacific cyclone

Cyclone Pali is currently above the equator in the ocean between the Marshall Islands and Kiribati, about 1300km southwest of Hawaii.

A forecaster at the US National Weather Service in Hawaii, Alistair Foster, says Pali is one of the earliest recorded in the central Pacific, where the cyclone season is not due to begin for another five months.

El Niño warning bells deafening: early action vital to saving lives

The aid agency said that New Zealand must immediately act on promises made under the new global climate agreement, as evidence suggested climate change may increase the frequency of extreme El Niño occurring.

Around 4.7 million people face hunger, poverty and disease across the Pacific alone due to El Niño-related droughts, erratic rains and frosts. Globally, 18 million people are already in need of assistance.

Tonga forecasters say El Niño is approaching its peak

Tonga is one of half a dozen Pacific nations suffering periods of drought over the past five months.

Radio Tonga reports the Met Office saying their modelling shows the El Niño is likely to begin declining early next year, although some impacts may persist further into 2016.

UN says El Niño getting worse in Pacific

In its latest situation update, the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs says governments are trying to take measure to mitigate the risks of water shortages, food insecurity and disease.

It says the governments of Fiji and Vanuatu are delivering food and water to affected communities, while in Papua New Guinea, three million people are suffering from shortages in the Highlands.