El Nino likely to last until winter, Japan Meteorological Agency says

El Nino Likely to Last Until Winter, Japan Meteorological Agency Says

Vocabulary Words

1. El Nino phenomenon –(n)- El Nino is a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific that occurs every four to 12 years resulting to extended dry periods.
ex. The Philippines was hit by the El Nino Phenomenon in 1998 resulting to shortages in food supply.

2. Disruption –(n)- to interrupt the progress of; an interruption or disturbance in a cycle, continuity, flow or movement
ex. The presentation went on smoothly without disruption.

3. Equatorial Pacific –(n)- The area of the Pacific ocean near the equator
ex. Ecuador, Peru and Colombia are just some of the countries in the equatorial Pacific area.

4. Oil refineries –(n)- An oil refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas
ex. Many Filipino engineers work in the oil refineries in the Middle East.

5. Roil (v) - to disturb or irritate
ex. Financial markets have been roiled by the banking crisis.

6. Hampered –(v)- to hold back; hinder; impede
ex. A steady rain hampered the progress of the work. / The dancers' movements were hampered by their elaborate costumes.

7. Drought-(n)- a period of dry weather, especially a long one that is injurious to crops.
Ex. The long drought resulted to the destruction of crops.


The Japan Meteorological Agency said on Friday its climate monitoring data and models indicate the El Nino phenomenon has emerged and is likely to last until the northern winter, potentially adding strain to global food supplies.

Global food production can suffer widespread disruption from the weather caused by El Nino, particularly across Asia and Africa where harvests can be robbed of rain.

“Monitoring data for July suggests that the El Nino phenomenon has emerged,” the agency said, referring to the latest conditions in the equatorial Pacific.

“The chances are high that the El Nino phenomenon will be maintained until the winter,” the agency said in a statement on its website.

The U.S. Climate Prediction Center, part of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), warned that an El Nino was almost certain to occur over the next two months.

The last severe El Nino was in 1998, when the phenomenon caused more than 2,000 deaths and inflicted billions of dollars in damage to crops, infrastructure and mines in Australia and other parts of Asia.

The Japanese agency had said last month the chances were high that El Nino conditions would emerge in the northern summer.

El Nino is a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific that occurs every four to 12 years, affecting crops from Asia to the Americas as well as industries, including hurricane-vulnerable oil refineries in the U.S. Gulf.

While the arrival of an El Nino raises the chances of favorable planting conditions in South America, it can roil farmers in Asia and Africa where it can bring extended dry periods.

Its effects will be closely watched in India, where the slow development of monsoon rains has already hampered the planting of summer crops, such as rice, oilseeds and cotton, and weather forecasters have already warned of the first drought in three years.

Three years ago, an El Nino slowed development of the monsoon rains, sparking a rally in sugar prices to 30-year highs as India, the world’s second biggest producer, harvested a poor cane crop.

Keenly watched by the U.S. oil industry, the phenomenon may reduce the chances of storms forming in the Atlantic basin toward the end of the hurricane season that runs to Nov 30.

El Nino, which means “little boy” in Spanish, was first noticed by anchovy fishermen in Latin America in the 19th century.

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012.
Related topics:

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/pacific-drought-flood-to-intensify-study-20120816-249ha.html

http://globalwarming.solveyourproblem.com/el-nino.shtml

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cloud+seeding

Questions

1. What is the article all about?
2. How does this phenomenon affect the people?
3. Have you ever experienced the El Nino phenomenon in your country?
4. Do you think this phenomenon is caused by climate change?
5. How can people conserve water during this event?
6. What can the government do to help the farmers?
7. Have you heard of the Phrase “cloud seeding”?

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cloud+seeding