Spring Breeze Felt in December... "Due to Eastern Pacific El Nino"

El Nino Phenomenon... East and Central Pacific Sea Surface Temperature Rises
"This Winter, Average Temperature High but Sudden Cold Wave Possible"

Last weekend, the daytime temperatures in regions such as Gyeongnam, Jeonnam, and Jeju rose to around 20 degrees Celsius, resulting in mild weather. This phenomenon has been analyzed to be influenced by the developing El Ni?o event in the tropical eastern Pacific region.

El Ni?o refers to a phenomenon occurring every 2 to 5 years where the sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern and central Pacific are higher than usual for several months or more.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Professor Yesang Wook from the Department of Marine Convergence Engineering at Hanyang University ERICA explained on June 11th on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "Currently, there is a lot of rainfall in the central Pacific region due to El Ni?o," adding, "When such a phenomenon occurs, atmospheric circulation is induced from the tropical region toward East Asia, particularly strengthening anticyclonic circulation in the southeastern part of our country and eastern Japan."

He continued, "Because of the anticyclonic circulation, winds from the south and southwest are strongly induced toward Korea and East Asia," and said, "I think this is probably the underlying cause."

Regarding the relationship between sea surface temperature and weather, he explained, "When the sea surface temperature in the tropical region rises, the atmosphere is affected by this, causing circulation changes that continuously bring warm winds toward Korea."

Professor Ye added, "The rain forecast this week is also due to the continuous inflow of south winds, which causes water vapor to accumulate around Korea, resulting in significant rainfall," and said, "Because the weather is so warm, precipitation falls as rain rather than snow."

Although it is difficult to predict with certainty, the average temperature this winter is expected to be high. This is because, under the influence of global warming, the Earth's average temperature is rising, and globally, seawater is warm.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Professor Ye said, "Although the average winter temperature is warm, the influence of El Ni?o does not persist continuously for three months, so cold waves and other effects can still occur," adding, "However, overall, a major characteristic of this winter will be increased variability, with temperatures being warm but then dropping sharply during cold wave events."

This trend is expected to continue into next year. He stated, "It is anticipated that this year will be the hottest year on record since the beginning of observational history, and next year is likely to show a similar trend."

Professor Ye concluded, "The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere continues to rise, and although El Ni?o peaks in winter, if its influence extends into next spring or even summer, the global average temperature next year is also likely to be very high."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.