The Bureau of Meteorology has declared that Australia is now in an El Niño climate pattern that will increase the chances of a hot and dry summer, and heighten the risk of dangerous bushfires.
Dr Karl Braganza, the BoM’s manager of climate services, confirmed the event was underway at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, and said it was associated with “an increase in fire danger and extreme heat risk”.
The UN’s weather agency, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), declared the onset of an El Niño in July, after the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) did so in June.
But until Tuesday, Australia’s weather agency had stopped short of making the declaration, pointing to a lack of tell-tale signs in the atmosphere.
El Niños are characterised by warmer than average sea surface temperatures in a central region of the equatorial Pacific.
The previous three Australian summers have seen a triple La Niña – the cooler and wetter phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation.
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