Everything I find is a bit too confusing or leaves out too much or whatever it is that I’m just not getting it, but it sounds bad
In: 840
So the El Nino and La Nina cycle themselves are not of concern they’re the normal cyclical pattern of weather for multiple countries that border the pacific ocean. Others have given a more technical explanation but the more layman one is: “When it is El Nino, places such as Canada and northern half of USA experience warmer/drier weather, the south eastern corner becomes quite dry, countries such as Australia experience dry spells and lower rainfall while southern half of USA experience increased rainfall. When it is La Nina this almost flips, with Canada and north half of USA experiening cold weather and increased rainfall while the southern ends of NA warm and dry up. Australia and eastern Pacific regions experience increased rainfall, cooler weather”
Why it is concerning is the effects of climate change are amplifying the effects of these weather patterns. So what once might have been a once in 50 years drought is now becoming “once in a decade” drought and catastrophic bush-fires are becoming a almost yearly event for the dry side of the cycle, meanwhile on the wet side those “once in 50 years flood” is becoming a biannual occurrence.
We’re coming off a particularly long La Nina period, so Canada, Australia/South Pacific and northern USA are bracing for the inevitable droughts and fires that climate change are amplifying which have plenty of fuel to burn after years of cool weather with plenty of rainfall to encourage plant growth.
Meanwhile the southern half of USA is bracing for flooding and more intensive cyclones.
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