El Nino what?

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The Bureau of Meteorology has officially declared an El Nino year yesterday, but what the heck is an El Nino and what does it mean for us Aussies? 

"Official" definition: El Nino is part of a natural cycle termed ENSO (El Nino-Southern Oscillation), along w El Nina and "neutral". It is one of the most influential natural phenomena that affects yearly climate variability in Australia.

Dummy 101 definition: El Nino = warm spells i.e. we gonn melt more than usual this summer 

Significance: El Nino years typically mean
  • ↑ fire risk in SE Aus
  • Reduced rainfall
  • Warmer temp
  • Shift in temp extremes 
  • (n.b. some places will have both higher one-day avg temp and longer warm spells, whilst elsewhere e.g. Melb more likely to have higher one-day avg temp but shorter overall warm spells)
  • Increased frost risk (due to reduced cloud coverage, can get colder-than-avg night-time temps)
  • Reduced tropical cyclone numbers
  • Later monsoon onset
  • Decreased alpine snow depths

Time to stock up on those fam pack sunscreen, remembering to stay hydrated, and plz, can we not marathon / do extreme sports in such extreme hot temps? Heat fatigue ain't no joking matter and heat stroke is actually a medical emergency and can be fatal rapidly if left untreated....




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