In Maiana in the Pacific Ocean a group of researchers found evidence that the El Nino cycle adapts to the average regions climatic conditions depending on where the weather pattern started. Looking at the coral reefs Cole and various co-workers studied the chemical pattern of the coral matter; this matter is like a detailed record of any temperature changes from the past 155 years as the growth levels are marked on the coral. An analysis of the coral showed that the length of the cycle changes with the normal average climate, as the corals growth spurts were higher when the records from previous years matched with those of previous El Nino events.
California saw the political leader; Vice President Al Gore suggesting that the effect of global warming may be increasing the likelihood of an El Nino weather event. He based his theory around a scientific prediction that the winter of 2002 was going to be the worst within the past decade, the last extreme winter was recorded in 1982-83 when the country was invaded by floods, heavy snow and drought. In a speech he made he said that El Nino events were becoming more common and the gradual increase in global warming was creating a build up of pollutant gases in the atmosphere making it harder for the air wasn’t able to circulate as easily so the winds were forced by the increased air pressure to take an alternate route. This idea however was dismissed as being more political rather than environmental as people felt Gore was following the awareness of concerns over global warming by President Clintons campaign. The campaign was created to help get worldwide negotiations on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Gore believed this campaign would be a step towards awareness of people using greenhouse gases such as car and factory fumes being the main ones down to throwing away reusable ‘rubbish’ that cost more to make.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), a United Nations agency, said that 1998 remained the hottest year on record, with 2002 surpassing last year as the next warmest. The nine warmest years had all occurred since 1990 so the air was rising higher and with the increase in greenhouse emissions the seas became higher, warmer and a pressure that once again was becoming greater means that the El Nino events are more likely to occur. The director of the world meteorological organisation, Kenneth Davidson said, "Clearly for the past 25 or 26 years, the warming is accelerating...The rate of increase is unprecedented in the last 1,000 years,” The world meteorological organisation’s scientists went on to try to find a reason for this and how to prevent any damage which on average calculated to $34 billion from the climate changes and that chain effect. Their observations were conducted from land weather stations, ships and buoys, they noted that the global surface temperature has risen by six-tenths of a degree Celsius since 1900, this is caused by the increase in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other gases such as methane which trap heat in the atmosphere causing more floods, droughts and sea level rises. The warmth created from the trapped air means that even though it is only be a small amount the sea still warms up so polar caps melt and also there is a greater risk of malaria as the warm water makes a great home for mosquitoes to live in.
Some people contradict the ideas that there is a link between El Nino and global warming, compared to natural climate changes spurred by the sun, any global warming resulting from increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would be slow and insignificant, according to an astrophysicist called Sallie Baliunas who works at Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics. Dr. Baliunas said the scientific evidence for the link between solar variability and shifts in climate only began to emerge in the last decade or so. The most recent studies have strengthened that view, creating a growing interest among scientists. The sun-climate link casts new doubts on the reliability of computer models that base their climate change scenarios on changes in greenhouse gas concentrations. It has long been noted that actual observations of global temperatures have been inconsistent with model forecasts. Nearly all of the 1 degree F warming over the last century occurred before 1940; nearly all of the increases in greenhouse gas concentrations occurred after 1940. Dr. Baliunas pointed out that global temperatures over the last 19 years, according to satellite and balloon-based measurements, have been flat. She also pointed out that during those warm periods, carbon dioxide levels remained flat, and therefore could not have been the cause. Interestingly, she said, research indicates that during the last warm period, El Nino events were not stronger and more frequently they disappeared. Earth's climate is dynamic and ever changing.
Atmospheric climate controls and non-atmospheric climate controls are independent and also dependant on one another. The individual factors within non-atmospheric climate control work in the same manner; for example, if winds over the Pacific Ocean falter (as in an El Nino event), ocean water temperatures will change, which will affect the precipitation levels. Catastrophic events can also affect the climate on a large-scale basis. A volcanic eruption, for example, can send volcanic ash into the atmosphere around the world, blocking the sun and thereby changing earth's temperatures and weather patterns. One team of scientists also suggest that the phase of the
Moon accounts for a global temperature change of about 0.02 to 0.03 degrees Celsius.
Experts are always likely to have conflicting theories about whether or not El Nino and Global Warming are linked due to trapped warm air causing the pressure to change the wind direction. Whatever the ‘correct’ answer is may never be found but some ideas such as using environmentally friendly fuels (hydro electric power (HEP) and solar power for example) would be sensible to put into action because even if they don’t help reduce the amount of El Nino weather events that occur then hopefully it will help reduce the risk from other problems such as running out of power and reducing the amount of pollution.
