"After months of slight temperature shifts in the Pacific Ocean, La Niña has officially returned - the climate pattern that typically drives drought in Southern California. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday that La Niña conditions had arrived, a possibly foreboding sign for the Southland. The southern half of the Golden State still has not bounced back from the last year of below-average rainfall, and the reemergence of the ocean phenomenon could mean more drought, with another drier-than-average winter."
"The previous La Niña - active from January until about April of this year - "was a substantial player" in the region's dry winter, said Emily Becker, research associate professor at the University of Miami who studies the El Niño Southern Oscillation ,or ENSO. Those conditions helped fuel some of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history. Even 10 months later, the region remains at relatively high risk for fire and in severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor."
La Niña conditions have returned in the Pacific Ocean, a climate pattern that typically increases drought risk in Southern California. NOAA confirmed the arrival of La Niña, which could lead to another drier-than-average winter for the region. The southern half of California has not recovered from last year’s below-average rainfall, and the prior La Niña earlier this year significantly contributed to the region’s dry winter and destructive fires. The area remains at relatively high fire risk and in severe drought per the U.S. Drought Monitor. Warming global oceans from human-caused climate change are amplifying La Niña’s effects.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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