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Ok - by now, you've probably heard that El Nino is responsible for just about all of the world's problems. Orange juice prices are going up? It's El Nino. Are fewer snowblowers being sold? Blame it on El Nino. Actually, El Nino has had a lot of effects on the world beyond warmer temperatures and rainier weather. Insect-borne diseases are on the rise worldwide - a direct effect of the warmer, moister climate. A drought in part of Indonesia killed hundreds of people, and allowed peat fires to start that created enough smoke and fog to cause two plane crashes. Fires also ravaged parts of Australia. Heavy rains in Somalia drove thousands of people from their homes. But was the season actually much worse than in years past? The United States doesn't seem to be feeling the impact financially - the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reports that money allocated for repairing damage in the U.S. is roughly the same as was spent in each of the two previous winters. How bad was it, here and abroad? And is there more to come, or is the much-hyped weather phenomenon finally running out of steam? It's an El Nino wrap-up, on this hour of Science Friday.
Guests: Antonio Moura Paul Epstein Books/Articles Discussed: Related Links: NOAA's El Nino site |
