El Nino is often associated with below average warmer, dry weather across Asia Pacific region.
Hours after Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology predicted a higher chance of an El Niño forming in mid-2017, the India Meteorological Department said on Tuesday the dreaded weather phenomenon would not impact the development of the southwest monsoon in the country.
The Bureau, in its latest update on Tuesday, upgraded its El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) outlook status to “El Niño Watch”, suggesting there is a 50 per cent chance of the weather event resurfacing this year.
An El Niño is often associated with below average warmer, dry weather across the Asia Pacific region. It has had an overbearing impact on Indian rains, and 80 per cent of El Niño years have seen below-normal rains in the country.
“The southwest monsoon starts developing around March and during this time and even after that till May, El Niño won’t be present. So, it won’t have any impact on development of the southwest monsoon,” IMD Director General K J Ramesh told Business Standard.
Photograph: Sivaram V/Reuters.
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