00:06Warmer or colder than average ocean temperatures in one part of the world can influence weather
00:11around the globe. Boggles the mind, right? Here's how it works. During normal conditions,
00:17trade winds, which blow from east to west, push warm surface waters towards Asia,
00:22piling it up in the western Pacific. In some years, though, the trade winds weaken. The
00:27warm surface water moves eastward and reduces upwelling of cold water off the coast of South
00:32America. Climatologists call this El Nino. Its climate impacts show up mostly in the wintertime
00:39over North America. The warmer ocean fuels an intensification and southward shift of the jet
00:45stream. This brings flooding to the southern United States and warmer, drier conditions over parts of
00:51the Pacific Northwest, northern U.S. and Canada. But eventually, those trade winds pick up again
00:57and sometimes become even stronger than normal. When that happens, they blow the warm water back
01:03into the western Pacific and restart the upwelling of cool water towards the surface in the eastern
01:08Pacific. These strong trade winds are a signature of what is called La Nina. Unusually cold conditions
01:17in the tropical Pacific that displace the jet stream northward. La Nina can lead to drought
01:21in the southern U.S. and cooler temperatures, heavy rains, and flooding in the Pacific Northwest.
01:28El Nino and La Nina together are part of a cycle that influences extreme weather and can impact food
01:34production, water supply, and even human health, not just in the U.S., but in many parts of the globe.
01:47the dead Korean Durviewee
01:50that has been realized. The
Comments