La Niña
El Niño's counterpart
La Niña is a periodic climate pattern marked by unusually cool ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, the counterpart to El Niño's warming.
La Niña typically brings wetter conditions to Australia and Southeast Asia while causing drought in the southwestern United States and South America.
The name means "the girl" in Spanish, paired with El Niño ("the boy").
Both are phases of the broader El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle.
Largest body of water
- equatorialOf Earth's central line
- trade windsReliable equatorial air currents
- thermoclineRapid temperature-change layer
- upwellingDeep water rising surfaceward
Humboldt Current · Peru · Ecuador · Galapagos · fisheries · anchovies · sardines · marine ecosystems
Prolonged water scarcity
- floodOverwhelming water overflow
- monsoonSeasonal tropical wind pattern
- jet streamHigh-altitude wind current
- precipitationAtmospheric water deposit
rainfall · seasonal variation · cyclone · atmospheric pressure · wet conditions · water resources · wildfire risk · snowpack
Prediction of future conditions
- predictionForecast of coming events
- climate modelsComputational atmospheric prediction systems
- NOAAU.S. weather and ocean agency
- anomalyDeparture from the expected
indicators · monitoring · onset · duration · intensity · moderate · strong · weak
Pacific Ocean
Largest body of water
- equatorialOf Earth's central line
- trade windsReliable equatorial air currents
- thermoclineRapid temperature-change layer
upwelling · Humboldt Current · Peru · Ecuador · Galapagos · fisheries · anchovies · sardines · marine ecosystems · Pacific Rim
drought
Prolonged water scarcity
- floodOverwhelming water overflow
- monsoonSeasonal tropical wind pattern
- jet streamHigh-altitude wind current
precipitation · rainfall · seasonal variation · cyclone · atmospheric pressure · wet conditions · water resources · wildfire risk · snowpack
forecast
Prediction of future conditions
- predictionForecast of coming events
- climate modelsComputational atmospheric prediction systems
- NOAAU.S. weather and ocean agency
anomaly · indicators · monitoring · onset · duration · intensity · moderate · strong · weak · probability