From The Tropical Pacific, El Niño Is In The Wind

For three years in a row, Earth's largest ocean has been stuck in its La Niña configuration. Now the Pacific has flipped to El Niño, businesses should prepare for record-high temperatures, weird weather, & slower economic growth.

The tropical Pacific Ocean has been remarkably dependable these past few years. Since the start of 2020, the trade winds have blown west across the equator in their usual fashion, pushing warm water away from South America and toward Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. This arrangement of air and ocean currents has been unusually vigorous over this period, with energized winds and even hotter water in the west. This situation is named La Niña and the uncommon persistence of this latest 'triple dip' event has set the table for global climate three years running. But La Niña has now exited the stage, and the spotlight is about to be taken by its mirror opposite.