The Atlantic Ocean has been setting new heat records since March 2023, and one large reason for this is an especially strong El Niño that passed during 2023 and 2024.
But it now seems that the Atlantic’s El Niño is likely to be replaced by its counterpart La Niña, which is when ocean temperatures are unusually cold a little too early.
Both these weather patterns are incredibly complex and are susceptible to trade winds, solar heating, and rainfall which makes them difficult to predict.
However, the sudden shift in the Atlantic’s temperatures and its presumed transition into La Niña — which is typically predicted to start in September — has experts quite baffled.
The changes could have an effect on nearby continents. (Getty Stock Photo)
„We’ve gone through the list of possible mechanisms, and nothing checks the box so far,” said Frans Philip Tuchen, a postdoctoral student at the University of Miami, to the New Scientist.
