The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is one of the important cycles affecting global weather, particularly around the Pacific region, but also having indirect impacts on a global level. Changes to winds and precipitation causing floods and droughts depending upon the region. El Niño also results in increasing global average temperatures, on top of the long term trend associated with climate change.
| Cost estimates in US$ for 1982-1983 El Niño | |
|---|---|
| Extreme Event / Country | Cost in $millions |
| Flooding | |
| Bolivia | $300 |
| Ecuador, Northern Peru | $650 |
| Cuba | $170 |
| U.S. Gulf States | $1,270 |
| Hurricanes | |
| Tahiti | $50 |
| Hawaii | $230 |
| Droughts/Fires | |
| Southern Africa | $1,000 |
| Southern India, Sri Lanka | $150 |
| Philippines | $450 |
| Indonesia | $500 |
| Australia | $2,500 |
| Southern Peru, Western Bolivia | $240 |
| Mexica, Central America | $600 |
| Total Costs | $8,110 million |
| Source: NASA via University of California San Diego | |
he 1982-1983 event has been estimated to have caused about $8.1 billion in damages and was largely unexpected without the warning and forecasting systems we have in place today.
The last Super El Niño event in 1997-1998 resulted in about 23,000 people killed as a result of ENSO linked extreme weather events and caused about $45-50 billion in losses to global agricultural output according to a Canberra Times report.
Predicting El Niño events and issuing alerts allows communities to prepare for the worst. It is essential for farmers to know the forecast for rain or drought so that crop plantings can be varied and livestock rates altered to minimise losses.
