THE EL NIÑO SOUTHERN

OSCILLATION CYCLE
Section 6.5
El Niño Southern Oscillation
• is a natural climatic phenomenon characterized
mainly by cyclic fluctuation of warm and cold sea
surface temperatures and atmospheric pressure
in the central and eastern equatorial pacific.
EL NIÑO
EL NIÑO
• Is a prolonged unusual warming of sea surface
temperatures in the central equatorial Pacific
and eastern equatorial Pacific.
• 3 months, great-than-usual warming
• The term was coined by fishermen on Ecuador
and Peru who notice unusual inter-annual
warming of ocean
Cause of El Niño
• Wind is usually blown to the west along the
equator in the Pacific region which causes the
piling of water that can reach up to half a meter
in the western Pacific.
• Warmer waters are concentrated in the west and
colder waters are left in the east.
Effects of El Niño

• An area that has been receiving below normal

amount of rainfall for a period of three months is
considered under a dry spell, while an area
receiving below normal amount of rainfall for a
period of five months is already experiencing a
drought
Effects on domestic water supply, irrigation,
and electricity generation

• The persistent low amount of rainfall over river

basins causes drastic lowering of water levels in
reservoirs.
• Reduced irrigation water, electricity,
hydropower plants, and precipitation.
• Increased temperature, utilization of other
sources of energy, and shortage for production.
Agricultural effects

• Farmlands yielding staple food crops sustain

great losses in harvest.

• Drought may bring death among livestock due to

heat stress and diseases.
Effects on marine ecosystem, capture
fishery, and aquaculture
• Massive coral bleaching
El Niño 1997-1998 triggered the world's largest coral bleaching.
Philippines live coral covers decreased by almost 49 percent.

• In capture fishery, the warmer and drier

conditions can dry up the fish ponds.
• The more saline and warmer coastal and
lacustrine waters can drastically affect fish
growth
Effects on marine ecosystem, capture fishery, and aquaculture

• Tendency for pelagic fish to migrate to deeper

waters. Resulting of lowe catch for fishermen.

• The overall ensuing shortage in food supply

causes substantial food prices hikes.
Other Environmental effects

• Land degradation
• Water quality deterioration
• Forest Wildfires
• Land subsidence
• Direct economic and societal effects
LA NIÑA
LA NIÑA
• La Niña, Spanish for “the girl”, on the other
hand, is the exact opposite of El Niño.

• Involves prolonged unusual cooling of sea

surface temperatures in central and eastern
equatorial Pacific that may last for 1-3 years.
Cause of La Niña

• A La Niña is caused by the strengthening of the

easterly trade winds which blow more warm
water toward the west and allows the upwelling
of cold water in the east.
Effects of La Niña

• La Niña causes near normal to above normal

rainfall conditions, particularly over the eastern
sector of the country.
Disasters

• Preparedness measures for disasters associated

in wetter conditions are discussed in separate
chapters.
Health Problems

• According to DOH, examples of common health

problems that arise during La Niña are diseases
due to flood-contaminated water
Southern Oscillation

• is the term that Sir Gilbert Walker gave for the

see-saw shift he observed in atmospheric
pressure between the eastern and western
tropical Pacific that accompanies both El Niño
and La Niña.
El Niño or La Niña Monitoring in
the Philippines

• PAGASA defines and detects El Niño or La Niña

phenomena based on Southern Oscillation Index
and Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly
indicators.
Southern Oscillation
Index
• Is calculated using the pressure
differences between Tahiti and
Darwin (T-D), indicates
whether an El Niña events will
take place in the Pacific Ocean.

• El Niño is described and

detected by negative Southern
Oscillation Index values,
meaning there is below normal
pressure in the eastern tropical
Pacific and above normal
pressure in the western tropical
Pacific.
ENSO-neutral

• An ENSO- neutral is a period when neither an El

Niño nor La Niña occurs.
ENSO Event Preparation and Adaptation
Strategies
I. Monitoring
Monitoring is of utmost importance in battling the negative
effectsof an ENSO event.

II. Adaptation Strategies

During an El Niño, the far-reaching problems encountered mainly
involve ensuring water and food security and battling El Niño's impact
on the population's health
ENSO Event Preparation and Adaptation Strategies

A. Water Management
Enforcing stringent water management and conservation
measures should be implemented in coordination with the NEEWMS
of PAGASA, the National Water Resources Board, the National
Irrigation Administration, and the National Power Corporation in
anticipation of possible water shortages during El Niño.

B. Agricultural Sector: Farming

Decline in production and shortage food crops can be a major
cause of famine, economic loss, and related societal problems.
ENSO Event Preparation and Adaptation Strategies

C. Health Problems
Certain diseases become widespread either during El Niño or La Niña.

Some advices given by the Department of Health

El Niño La Niña
To avoid or cope with health To avoid or cope with health
threats posed by El Niño threats posed by La Niña
1. Constant rehydrate 1. Properly wash hands and clean
2. Conserve household water parts of the body that
supply and protect it from unavoidably come into contact
contamination with floodwaters.
Etc. 2. Boil water intended for
drinking.
Etc.
ENSO Event Preparation and Adaptation
Strategies

D. Environmental conservation and geohazards

Reporting any untoward incidents related to either El

Niño and El Niña to authorities.

Forest fire prevention measures are addressed in a

section on fire hazards.