Working
Group 1: Climate and Disasters
Chair: World Meteorology Organization (WMO)
The working
Group builds on the work of the IATF on El Niño - to
support international cooperation to reduce the impact of climate
variables such as El Niño and La Niña. The Working
Group carries out, reviews and supports activities in this
specific area.
The most
recent occurrence of the El Niño phenomenon occurred
during 1997 and 1998. In recent decades, El Niño phases
have been occurring on average every three and a half years,
with large events occurring every seven to eleven years. Probability
on this basis would therefore suggest that we are presently
closer to the next El Niño event than to the previous.
This highlights the need to continue efforts within an international
concerted platform for a comprehensive strategy towards the
integration of the prevention, mitigation and rehabilitation
of the damage caused by future El Niño phenomena. The
1997-1998 El Niño was followed by a cold phase, La Niña,
which also appears to have affected weather patterns in many
regions of the world, in some cases with intensities equal
to or greater than that observed under the El Niño phase.
La Niña started in late 1998 and persisted through 1999
and well into 2000. The need for a joint consideration of both
El Niño and La Niña is reflected in the scientific
community by the use of the term El
Niño/Southern Oscillation, or ENSO. The improved
understanding of the ENSO has provided key impetus to the international
co-operation on the prevention, mitigation, and preparedness
for natural disasters.
Members
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