LA NIÑA

BY : MARYCON GANDA
WHAT IS LA NIÑA?

• La Niña (/lɑːˈniːnjə/, Spanish pronunciation: [la ˈniɲa]) is a coupled ocean-

atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Niño as part of the
broader El Niño–Southern Oscillation climate pattern.
• The name La Niña originates from Spanish, meaning "the little girl",
analogous to El Niño meaning "the little boy". It has also in the past been
called anti-El Niño,[1] and El Viejo (meaning "the old man").[2] During a
period of La Niña, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial
Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3 to 5 °C.
 Why does la niña occur?
El Niño happens when tropical Pacific Ocean trade winds die out
and ocean temperatures become unusually warm. There is a flip
side to El Niño called La Niña, which occurs when the trade winds
blow unusually hard and the sea temperature become colder
than normal.
During a La Nina event, the changes in Pacific Ocean
temperatures affect the patterns of tropical rainfall from
Indonesia to the west coast of South America. These changes in
tropical rainfall patterns affect weather patterns throughout the
world.
HOW LONG DOES LA NIÑA OCCUR?

El Niño and La Niña episodes typically last nine to 12

months, but some prolonged events may last for years.
While their frequency can be quite irregular, El Niño
and La Niña events occur on average every two to
seven years. Typically, El Niño occurs more frequently
than La Niña.
The El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, is a
quasi-periodic climate pattern that occurs across
the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years.

It is characterized by variations in the temperature

of the surface of the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean
warming or cooling known as Niño and Niña
respectively and air surface pressure in the
tropical western Pacific, the Southern Oscillation.
The Niño / Niña Meter aside informs at a
glance and is updated automatically by
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration).
Absolute Water Temperature
This map shows the development of the Pacific Ocean's surface water
temperatures in the last 12 weeks. The Philippines can be found on the
extreme left side of the map. In the center are the islands of Hawaii and
on the right side are parts of the USA, Mexico, Central America and Peru.

The absolute surface temperatures are in indicator for

typhoon/hurricane probability. An ocean temperature of 26.5°C (79.7°F])
spanning through a depth of at least 50 metres (160 ft) is considered the
minimum to maintain the special mesocyclone that is the tropical
cyclone.

These warm waters are needed to maintain the warm core that fuels
tropical systems. A minimum distance of 500 km (300 mi) from the
equator is normally needed for tropical cyclogenesis.
Anomalies of Water Temperature
Much more important for the El Niño / La Niña effects are the
temperature differences of the surface waters around the equator.

A difference of +/- 0.5°C (white color) is considered to be normal.

A derivation to yellow and red along the equator means warmer

equatorial waters = El Niño.

A bluish color along the equator means colder equatorial waters = La

Niña
Influence in the Philippines:
The most affected people are the farmers. The most touched
regions are central and western Mindanao and the Cordilleras.

Mindanao is affected by both, El Niño and La Niña - droughts or

floods. The Cordilleras are affected by La Nina - much too much
water.

Also other regions can be touched, but then it's rather an

exception. Such an exception happened during last El Niño
2015/2016. In many regions there had been no rainfall during 4
months (e.g. Zamboanga and Bohol)
The dam levels as an indicator:
The table shows the daily variation of the water levels in 9 dams in central and
northern Luzon.

There are 2 important columns:

-The 24 hours water level deviation
-The Gate Opening

A long during negative water level deviation indicates a strong El Niño effect. It is dry.
When La Niña hits, the water level rises rapidly. The spill gates have to be opened to
prevent an overflow of the dams.

The result of such openings are often floods in the lowlands.

CAUTION:
The dam levels change with the seasons.

Amihan is usually dry in the north = low

levels.

Habagat brings rain and fills the dams.