El Niño acts with rain in the South and drought in the North until January – 10/27/2023 – Daily Life

The effects of the El Niño climate phenomenon are expected to affect rainfall in regions of the country at least until January, according to a forecast released this Friday (27) by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Precipitation is expected to remain intense in the southern portion of the country and reduced in the north, which is already facing a drought with historic lows in the levels of rivers such as the Negro and Solimões.

The South, on the other hand, continues to face storms, predicted for this weekend, which starts unstable in the north and northwest of Rio Grande do Sul and in the west of Santa Catarina, with forecasts of hail and wind gusts that can exceed 90 km/h. Throughout the week, the accumulated volume of rain is expected to exceed 300 millimeters.

Recovery from the drought in the North of the country should begin in the southwest of the Amazon, but will be slow, according to information from Inmet (National Institute of Meteorology), Inpe (National Institute for Space Research), both from the federal government, and the Fundação Cearense de Meteorology and Water Resources, from the government of Ceará.

Rain is expected to return to the region in November, but still below average, according to Inpe. El Niño, which gains strength until December, is expected to intensify this rainfall deficit.

El Niño is characterized by above-average warming in the Pacific Ocean, near the equator. It changes the circulation of the trade winds, which go from east to west, carrying moisture and warmer waters from the coast of the Americas to Asia and Oceania.

The ocean winds that move in an east-west direction over the Andes mountain range form a kind of barrier over Brazilian territory, causing cold fronts to travel more slowly over the southern region, where precipitation is concentrated.

The phenomenon affects regions such as Rondônia with below-average rainfall forecast. According to Inpe, the state is home to the Madeira River basin, which contributes to the water volume of the Amazon River, one of those affected by the severe drought.