The La Niña phenomenon, which was experienced during the first quarter and part of this month of April, has come to an end for this season, according to NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States.
This same agency had issued an alert on January 9, because a constant cooling was observed on the sea surface in the Niño 3.4 region in December 2024, with high probability that this cooling would extend during the first quarter of 2025.
With a new forecast and analysis, NOAA now perceives a weakening of sea surface temperatures (TSM) below the average in the central and central and central eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean in March 2025, and notes that conditions of a neutral ENOS climate pattern (the intermediate phase between La Niña and El Niño) have returned.
“Only four months after it emerged, on April 10, 2025, the end of the La Niña phenomenon was declared. Consequently, by not reaching the expected minimum duration of a La Niña phenomenon, this event of climate variability is recorded in the historical series as a cold phase of the ENOS (El Niño-Southern Oscillation), but it is not categorized as La Niña, “said a statement issued by the Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology of Panama (Imhpa), which refers to this phenomenon and the climatic condition reported by NOAA.
The statement indicates that, due to cooling and fading earlier than forecast, the weather conditions experienced in the first months of the year were described as “a brief and relatively weak event, but which contributed to moderate global temperatures in some way.”
In addition, it is warned that the recorded temperatures, in any case, are at record values due to the thrust of global warming.
The Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology of Panama highlights that the event coincided with the dry season of the country and generated a greater frequency of cloudy days, isolated rains and the prolongation of the rainy season, which was evidenced in the rains extending until the end of January 2025.
“The ENOS, today, is in its neutral phase, that is, there is no influence of this phenomenon on climate patterns, and there are more than 70% probability that the conditions of the neutral phase of the ENOS will predominate during the rest of the first half of 2025,” says the Imhpa statement.
Hi Adrian,
Not sure whether you know, but El Niño means Little Boy in Spanish. South American fishermen first noticed periods of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean in the 1600s. The full name they used was El Niño de Navidad, because El Niño typically peaks around December.
BTW, my wife and I are still going to relocate to Boquete, but things in the US are complicating our departure. I trust all is well with you.
Regards,
Alan
PS. The link below is my business website, needs updating though. You’ll see my picture under Professional.