La Nina is suspected to have caused recent floods in Australia. How is La Nina different from EI Nino?
1. La Nina is characterized by un-usually cold ocean temperature in equatorial Indian ocean whereas EI Nino is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperature in the equatorial pacific ocean.
2. EI Nino has adverse effect on south-west monsoon of India, but La Nina has no effect on monsoon climate.
Q. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a)
1 only.
b)
2 only.
c)
Both 1 and 2.
d)
Neither 1 nor 2.
Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?

Question

La Nina is suspected to have caused recent floods in Australia. How is La Nina different from EI Nino?
1. La Nina is characterized by un-usually cold ocean temperature in equatorial Indian ocean whereas EI Nino is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperature in the equatorial pacific ocean.
2. EI Nino has adverse effect on south-west monsoon of India, but La Nina has no effect on monsoon climate.
Q. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a)
1 only.
b)
2 only.
c)
Both 1 and 2.
d)
Neither 1 nor 2.

Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?

Answer

The correct answer is option 'D' - Neither 1 nor 2. Let's analyze each statement to understand why it is incorrect.

1. La Nina is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperature in the equatorial Indian Ocean, whereas El Nino is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperature in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

This statement is incorrect because it incorrectly identifies the regions where La Nina and El Nino occur. La Nina is actually characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, while El Nino is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the same region. La Nina is the cool phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, while El Nino is the warm phase.

2. El Nino has adverse effects on the southwest monsoon of India, but La Nina has no effect on monsoon climate.

This statement is also incorrect. Both El Nino and La Nina have significant impacts on the monsoon climate in India. During El Nino years, the southwest monsoon tends to be weaker than normal, leading to reduced rainfall in many parts of India. On the other hand, during La Nina years, the southwest monsoon tends to be stronger than normal, leading to above-average rainfall in many parts of the country.

In conclusion, both statements provided in the question are incorrect. La Nina is characterized by cold ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, while El Nino is characterized by warm ocean temperatures in the same region. Additionally, both La Nina and El Nino have significant impacts on the monsoon climate in India, with El Nino generally causing weaker monsoons and La Nina causing stronger monsoons.

Answer

La Niña is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Niño as part of the broader El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern. During a period of La Niña, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3–5 °C. In the United States, an episode of La Niña is defined as a period of at least 5 months of La Niña conditions. The name La Niña originates from Spanish, meaning "the girl," analogous to El Niño meaning "the boy."
La Niña, sometimes informally called "anti-El Niño", is the opposite of El Niño, where the latter corresponds instead to a higher sea surface temperature by a deviation of at least 0.5 °C, and its effects are often the reverse of those of El Niño. El Niño is famous due to its potentially catastrophic impact on the weather along both the Chilean, Peruvian and Australian coasts, among others. La Niña is often preceded by a strong El Niño. For India, an El Niño is often a cause for concern because of its adverse impact on the southwest monsoon; this happened in 2009. A La Niña, on the other hand, is often beneficial for the monsoon, especially in the latter half. The La Niña that appeared in the Pacific in 2010 probably helped 2010's south-west monsoon end on a favourable note.

Answer

La Niña is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Niño as part of the broader El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern. During a period of La Niña, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3–5 °C. In the United States, an episode of La Niña is defined as a period of at least 5 months of La Niña conditions. The name La Niña originates from Spanish, meaning "the girl," analogous to El Niño meaning "the boy."
La Niña, sometimes informally called "anti-El Niño", is the opposite of El Niño, where the latter corresponds instead to a higher sea surface temperature by a deviation of at least 0.5 °C, and its effects are often the reverse of those of El Niño. El Niño is famous due to its potentially catastrophic impact on the weather along both the Chilean, Peruvian and Australian coasts, among others. La Niña is often preceded by a strong El Niño. For India, an El Niño is often a cause for concern because of its adverse impact on the southwest monsoon; this happened in 2009. A La Niña, on the other hand, is often beneficial for the monsoon, especially in the latter half. The La Niña that appeared in the Pacific in 2010 probably helped 2010's south-west monsoon end on a favourable note.

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