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La Niña
[ lah nee-nyah ]
noun
- a cool ocean current that develops off the coast of Ecuador and Peru, sometimes following an El Niño but causing nearly the opposite extreme weather conditions.
La Niña
/ læ ˈniːnjə /
noun
- meteorol a cooling of the eastern tropical Pacific, occurring in certain years
La Niña
/ äŧ′ä /
- A cooling of the surface water of the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, occurring somewhat less frequently than El Niño events but causing similar, generally opposite disruptions to global weather patterns. La Niña conditions occur when the Pacific trade winds blow more strongly than usual, pushing the sun-warmed surface water farther west and increasing the upwelling of cold water in the eastern regions. Together with the atmospheric effects of the related southern oscillation , the cooler water brings drought to western South America and heavy rains to eastern Australia and Indonesia.
- Compare El Niño
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of La Niña1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of La Niña1
Example Sentences
Swain said the current La Niña conditions, the cool phase of the cycle in tropical Pacific Ocean waters, are probably contributing to the pattern.
This year, La Niña conditions are developing instead, according to US science group Noaa, which should have the opposite effect.
While La Niña is currently weak - and sometimes take a couple of months to have its full effect on temperatures – it was expected to lead to a cooler January.
While it was not especially strong, it followed an unusually lengthy La Niña phase from 2020-23.
Writing for Discover Magazine, Tom Yulsman points out that scientists expected this January to be cooler than preceding Januaries because of the ocean current cycles like El Niño and La Niña.
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