In May 2024, while most of the continent ushered in a spring climate, other parts of the world were hit by extreme weather disasters. Countries such as southern Brazil in South America and the Philippines in Southeast Asia have experienced historically rare floods and droughts, respectively, causing huge casualties and economic losses.
1. The South American Flood
On April 27, 2024, a strong storm with high winds and torrential rains began to sweep through the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In some areas, more than 300 mm of rain fell in less than a week, and floodwaters broke through river banks and caused widespread, devastating flooding.
On May 8, 2024, a NASA satellite captured images of the flooded downtown area of Porto Alegre in the state. Flooding flooded neighborhoods, causing international airports to close, sweeping through major stadiums and washing away several highways.
NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites acquired satellite imagery on May 6 and April 20, respectively, during and before the floods. Floodwaters broke through the banks of several rivers and inundated parts of Porto Alegre, the state's capital. Satellite imagery can also be seen that the runoff, dyed brown by suspended sediment, flows into the Patos Lagoon, south of Porto Alegre.
The floods wreaked havoc throughout the state of Rio Grande do Sul. According to the Civil Protection Agency of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, more than 160,000 people have been displaced and dozens have died. The state is a major producer and exporter of soybeans, rice, wheat, and meat. Farmers have reported heavy losses in multiple areas, and analysts expect damage to silos and other storage facilities, transport networks and ports to disrupt grain exports.
2. Extreme drought in Southeast Asia
According to Brazil's National Meteorological Institute (INMET), the El Niño event caused extreme rainfall in the region, as it helped direct the cold front towards Rio Grande do Sul and concentrated the atmosphere unstable over the state. INMET SAID THE UNUSUALLY WARM WATERS IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC INCREASED HUMIDITY, CAUSING WARM, MOIST AIR FROM THE AMAZON TO COLLIDE WITH COLD AIR FROM THE SOUTH OF THE STATE, EXACERBATING THE STORM.
From January to April 2024, extreme heat combined with low rainfall led to drought in most parts of the Philippines. According to the UC Santa Barbara's Center for Climate Disasters, most of the country received only 45 to 75 percent of the expected rainfall in the first four months of 2024.
Pantabangan Lake, located 25 kilometers northeast of Muñoz in central Luzon, has been affected by drought, and low water levels in 2024 have exposed more ruins of the town of Pantabangan, a 300-year-old settlement in the center of the lake. The town was flooded when the reservoir was built in the 70s of the last century, and recent drought conditions have caused the ruins of the town to reappear. Parts of a church and tombstone in the centuries-old town began to reappear in March after months of "little to no rain", according to AFP.
The Philippines experienced high temperatures and little rain for much of the first quarter of 2024, with the hottest temperatures coming in late April – on April 27, in Muñoz, 125 kilometers north of Manila, temperatures soared to 40 degrees Celsius, breaking the city's temperature record. According to news reports, the Philippines closed all public schools on April 29-30 due to hot weather. The heat wave also spread to other parts of Southeast Asia. In late April, temperatures in northern Thailand and Myanmar persisted for more than a week around 40–44 degrees. On April 28, the temperature reached 48.2 degrees in the Magway region of central Myanmar, breaking the record for the highest temperature observed in the country.
3. El Niño
Normally, April and May are the hottest months in Southeast Asia, but NASA analysis notes that unusually warm ocean temperatures associated with El Niño and long-term climate change have further boosted temperatures. In this way, whether it is in Southeast Asia or South America, there is a culprit behind the abnormal weather, that is, the El Niño phenomenon.
El Niño is a phenomenon in which the temperature of sea water rises abnormally in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, resulting in changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns. El Niño usually occurs every few years and lasts variably, sometimes only a few months or as long as more than a year.
The impact of El Niño is global and can alter climate and precipitation patterns around the world, leading to extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, storms, and cold spells in some regions. According to historical records, El Niño has been associated with global floods, droughts and forest fires in 1997-1998, as well as the world's hottest years in 2015-2016. El Niño also affects agriculture, fisheries, water resources, energy, transportation, health and ecosystems around the world, causing huge socio-economic losses.
2024 is a typical El Niño year, and since the second half of 2023, sea temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean have continued to rise, reaching the criteria for El Niño. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ocean temperatures in the central equatorial Pacific Ocean reached anomalous levels of more than 1.5°C from January to April 2024, the highest since the 1997-1998 El Niño. The abnormal distribution of sea temperature affects the movement of the atmosphere and the distribution of precipitation, which leads to abnormal weather on a global scale.
Although El Niño is a natural phenomenon, its effects are far-reaching. Although we cannot fully predict every movement of El Niño, through the analysis and interpretation of historical data, we now have a general idea of the weather patterns that can be produced. For example, El Niño typically causes droughts in places like Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines, while places like Peru and Ecuador in South America experience floods and landslides. In Africa, El Niño can cause droughts in places like Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, while flooding can occur in places like South Africa and Zimbabwe. For the mainland, El Niño will also have some impact. For example, the El Niño phenomenon will cause rainfall in the southern part of the continent to tend to increase, and the Yangtze River basin will have cool summers.
In conclusion, El Niño is a complex global climate phenomenon with multifaceted impacts that are not confined to one region. In 2024, after abnormal weather in many parts of the world, the continent will also face the challenges brought by the El Niño phenomenon.