World could face record temperatures in 2023 as El Nino returns

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has warned El Nino will return in 2023 following a three-year La Nina phase.

El Nino is characterised by above-average warming of the ocean surface in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, and during this period east winds blow weaker than normal.

La Niña on the other hand involves the cooling of sea-surface temperatures across the east-central equatorial Pacific, and the east winds are stronger.

El Ninos typically occur every 3 to 5 years and cause excess rainfall and flooding in the East Africa region.

FAO says the phenomenon is forecast to return in June 2023, with dry weather conditions expected in key cropping areas of Central America, Southern Africa and Far East Asia, while excessive rainfall and possible flooding are foreseen in Near East Asia and East Africa.

The world experienced a third consecutive La Nina event in 2022 and early 2023, a rare occurrence that has happened only twice since 1950.

La Nina events are commonly associated with wetter conditions in Australia and drier conditions in the United States of America, South America and East Africa.

In East Africa, the effects on cereal production were particularly devastating, with several countries experiencing multiple seasons of failed crops that triggered famine alerts in Somalia in the first half of 2022.

FAO says the 2023 La Nina event officially ended in March 2023.

In the past month, there has been heavy rainfall recorded in most parts of the country, with the Kenya Meteorological Department last week predicting that rains will continue in most regions.

A section of the Kisumu-Nairobi railway line at Kobigori in Kisumu County has also been damaged as a result of the ongoing heavy rains.