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KARACHI: The subcontinent might witness a subdued monsoon this summer as the warming El Ni\u00f1o wea\u00adt\u00adher phenomenon is expected to form later this year, according to a weather expert.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are expecting El Ni\u00f1o in the coming summer and it is expected to become \u2018super El Nino\u2019 by the end of August to September,\u201d Pakistan Meteorological Department\u2019s (PMD) spokesperson Anjum Nazir Zaigham told Dawn<\/em>. He noted that El Ni\u00f1o suppresses the summer monsoon in the subcontinent.<\/p>\n El Ni\u00f1o and its cooler sister La Ni\u00f1a are climate patterns in the Pacific Ocean that can affect weather worldwide.<\/p>\n El Ni\u00f1o and La Ni\u00f1a events occur every two to seven years, on average, but they do not occur on a regular schedule, according to the United States\u2019 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA<\/a>).<\/p>\n Last month, NOAA noted<\/a> there was a 50- to 60-per cent chance of El Ni\u00f1o developing during the July-September period and beyond.<\/p>\n The last El Ni\u00f1o<\/a> occurred in 2023-2024, contributing to making 2023 the second highest year on record and 2024 the all-time high<\/a>.<\/p>\n El Ni\u00f1o\u2019s impact would be higher in 2027 than in 2026 if it develops in the second half of this year, according to Tido Semmler, a climate scientist at Ireland\u2019s National Meteorological Service. \u201cIt takes time for the global atmosphere to react to the El Nino,\u201d he said earlier<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in a weather forecast issued on Wednesday, the PMD said \u201chot and dry weather was likely to prevail over most parts\u201d of Sindh.<\/p>\n It forecasted \u201cwarm\u201d weather today and tomorrow in Karachi, with the maximum temperature reaching 36 degrees Celsius today.<\/p>\n Humidity levels in the morning were expected to remain 80 per cent, before dropping to 40-50pc in the evening.<\/p>\n For Friday, the PMD predicted hot weather in the metropolis, with mercury surging to 37\u00b0C during the day and remaining between 24-26\u00b0C at night.<\/p>\n El Ni\u00f1o typically results in drier conditions across southeast Asia, Australia, southern Africa, and northern Brazil, and wetter conditions in the Horn of Africa, the southern United States, Peru and Ecuador.<\/p>\n El Ni\u00f1o can weaken consistent trade winds that blow east to west across the tropical Pacific. \u201cWarm water is pushed back east, toward the west coast of the Americas,\u201d NOAA notes.<\/p>\n This weakening warms the usually cooler central and eastern sides of the ocean, altering rainfall over the equatorial Pacific and wind patterns around the world.<\/p>\n The extra heat at the surface of the Pacific releases energy into the atmosphere that can temporarily drive up global temperatures, which is why El Ni\u00f1o years are often among the warmest on record.<\/p>\n<\/a>What is El Ni\u00f1o?<\/h2>\n
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