La Nina is suspected to have caused recent floods in Australia. How is La Nina different from El Nino? 1. La Nina is characterised by unusually cold ocean temperature in the equatorial Indian Ocean whereas El Nino is characterised by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. 2. El Nino has an adverse effect on south-west monsoon of India, but La Nina has no effect on monsoon climate. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

QUESTION

Medium

Physical Geography

Prelims 2011

La Nina is suspected to have caused recent floods in Australia. How is La Nina different from El Nino?

La Nina is characterised by unusually cold ocean temperature in the equatorial Indian Ocean whereas El Nino is characterised by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
El Nino has an adverse effect on south-west monsoon of India, but La Nina has no effect on monsoon climate.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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Explanation

La Nina and El Nino are both part of the El Nio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, which affects weather patterns around the world. La Nina is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific, not the Indian Ocean as stated in statement 1. Therefore, statement 1 is incorrect. On the other hand, El Nino is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific. Regarding statement 2, both El Nino and La Nina have effects on the monsoon climate. El Nino tends to weaken the monsoon, leading to drought conditions in India, while La Nina tends to strengthen the monsoon, leading to above-normal rainfall. Therefore, statement 2 is also incorrect.

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