Posted on 03 May 2023
El Niño, the oceanographic phenomenon involving the warming of global surface waters, is expected to return in June after three years of the opposite La Niña phase.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations released a report last week highlighting the country specific implications of the forecasted conditions. The weather event is described in the report as a “key driver of extreme weather events that pose high risks to global food security.”
Pacific nations are particularly vulnerable to the effects of El Niño, which will be felt across the region in differing ways; most of the Pacific are predicted to receive drier conditions, but Kiribati and Tuvalu are likely to experience more rainfall. Palau has just been put into Stage 1 of the Drought Action Plan, with 50% chance of experiencing drought this year due to the forecasted weather pattern.