A team of researchers from the TROPA group, belonging to the Complutense University of Madrid and the Institute of Geosciences (IGEO-CSIC), discovered that the Atlantic Ocean may play a decisive role in predicting the El Niño phenomenon, one of the main drivers of global climate variability.
El Niño is characterized by the anomalous warming of the tropical Pacific waters, which triggers atmospheric changes that propagate far beyond that region, influencing the climate in various parts of the world, including the Iberian Peninsula.
According to the research, although the correlation effect in the Iberian countries is quite reduced, it is normally associated with rising temperatures on a global scale.
The discovery suggests that, to anticipate one of the planet's largest climate phenomena, it may be necessary to direct attention to the Atlantic Ocean, opening new possibilities for prediction and preparation for different sectors of society on a global scale.
