It might not happen, and here’s hoping it doesn’t, but if it does … the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released an image of the world map, detailing its projections of where this year’s El Nino phenomenon might hit, for how long, and to what end. Malaysia and most of Southeast Asia are in a sweet spot of trouble.
According to the NOAA’s projections, 2014’s El Nino might hit Malaysia and the surrounding region from June and would last until next January, pushing us into a prolonged dry spell or possibly a full on drought. A huge chunk of Australia would also be caught up in this dry zone from July to as early as November this year all the way to next March.
As El Nino is all about extreme temperature differentials, the opposite end of the spectrum for our dry spell would be heavy precipitation all along the Pacific Ocean, stretching along the Equator from Papua New Guinea all the way to Equador in South America.
This new projection tallies with the one released by the United Kingdom Meteorological Office earlier this month. The onset of El Nino is not assured, but if it does hit the region, it’ll happen sometime in the next month, and it will make the dry spell we experienced earlier this year – and the water shortages and forest fires that came with it – seem like a walk in the park.
See Also:
A 6-month dry season if El Nino hits Malaysia
Weather Woes: This year’s El Nino could be a repeat of 1997’s
