What Is The El Niño-Southern Oscillation? Understanding The Phenomenon

UNGKIT.COM – The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a global climate phenomenon that occurs periodically due to fluctuations in sea surface temperatures and changes in air pressure across the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

According to Climate.gov, the ENSO cycle consists of three phases—or states—that influence weather patterns worldwide, including in Indonesia. These three phases are El Niño (the warm phase), La Niña (the cold phase), and Neutral.

El Niño: This phase involves the warming of the sea surface—or sea surface temperatures (SST) rising above average—in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. In Indonesia, rainfall tends to decrease, while precipitation increases over the tropical Pacific Ocean.

During this phase, low-level surface winds, which typically blow from east to west along the equator (easterly winds), weaken or, in some cases, reverse direction, blowing from west to east (westerly winds).

La Niña: This phase involves the cooling of the sea surface—or sea surface temperatures (SST) falling below average—in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. In Indonesia, rainfall tends to increase, while precipitation decreases over the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The normal easterly winds along the equator become stronger.

Neutral: This state is neither El Niño nor La Niña. Sea surface temperatures (SST) in the tropical Pacific remain generally close to the average. However, there are instances where the ocean may appear to be in an El Niño or La Niña state, but the atmosphere does not reflect this—or vice versa.

Although ENSO is a single climate phenomenon, it encompasses three distinct states, or phases, that it can cycle through. The two opposing phases, El Niño and La Niña, entail specific changes in both the ocean and the atmosphere, as ENSO is an interconnected climate phenomenon. Meanwhile, the "Neutral" phase sits in the middle of this continuum. (*)

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