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Weather and Climate

ENSO and short-term climate change

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 3 Section B

Overview

Consequences of El Niño for South America, consequences of El Niño for Australia and Indonesia and la Niña.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What does ENSO stand for?

Key term

Describe normal, or Walker circulation, conditions in the Pacific.

Key term

What happens to the trade winds during an El Niño event?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What does ENSO stand for?

    Model answer

    ENSO stands for the El Niño Southern Oscillation. The term covers both the oceanic and the atmospheric parts of the cycle.

  2. 2

    Describe normal, or Walker circulation, conditions in the Pacific.

    Model answer

    Trade winds push warm surface water westwards, piling it up around Indonesia. Cold water upwells off South America, so the western Pacific is wet and the eastern Pacific dry.

  3. 3

    What happens to the trade winds during an El Niño event?

    Model answer

    The trade winds weaken or reverse. Warm water flows back eastwards across the Pacific.

  4. 4

    What are the consequences of El Niño for South America?

    Model answer

    Warm water off Peru and Ecuador suppresses upwelling and brings heavy rainfall and flooding. The anchovy fishery collapses because the nutrient supply is cut off.

  5. 5

    What are the consequences of El Niño for Australia and Indonesia?

    Model answer

    Drier than normal conditions bring drought and an elevated wildfire risk. Crop yields fall across eastern Australia.

  6. 6

    What is La Niña?

    Model answer

    La Niña is the opposite phase of the cycle, with unusually strong trade winds. Cold upwelling off South America intensifies and the western Pacific becomes wetter still.

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