La Niña refers to the periodic cooling of sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, accompanied by shifts in tropical atmospheric circulation – including alterations in wind patterns, air pressure and precipitation Typically, La Niña produces climate impacts opposite to those of El Niño
After observing neutral conditions – neither La Niña nor El Niño – since March, forecasts now suggest a 55 percent probability of La Niña developing by September However, meteorologists emphasize that these natural climate events occur against the backdrop of human-induced climate change, which is driving up global temperatures, intensifying extreme weather and altering seasonal rainfall and temperature patterns
From September through November, above-normal temperatures are currently predicted for large portions of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
