Impact of the 2023/2024 El Niño Event: A Global Humanitarian Crisis
The 2023/2024 El Niño was one of the strongest in recorded history, causing severe droughts and floods that affected over 60 million people globally. Particularly impacted were Southern Africa and Eastern Africa, where food insecurity and health crises surged, exacerbating existing vulnerabilities among communities. The episode showcased the extensive socio-economic disruptions that can arise from climatic events, highlighting the urgent need for effective humanitarian responses.
The 2023/2024 El Niño phenomenon, recognized as one of the five most intense episodes recorded, ushered in significant temperature anomalies exceeding 2°C above average in the Pacific Ocean. Evidence from the World Weather Attribution indicates that this climatic event was instrumental in precipitating numerous extreme weather conditions from September 2023 to May 2024. These included severe droughts across Central America, Colombia, and various countries in Southern Africa, while also contributing to widespread flooding events in Brazil, Dubai, and regions of East Africa.
The ramifications of El Niño have had a catastrophic impact on over 60 million individuals, particularly within vulnerable communities who are already grappling with the dual challenges of climate change and regional conflicts. Southern Africa bore the brunt of these consequences, where over 30 million people experienced severe droughts, disrupting livelihoods and escalating food insecurity levels. Furthermore, in Eastern Africa, flooding forced the displacement of communities, negatively impacting approximately 5 million individuals.
Additionally, the Philippines contended with drought-like conditions affecting over 4 million people, while Central America reported that approximately 1.3 million individuals were impacted. The flooding crisis in Brazil has left more than 2 million residents facing extraordinary hardships. Beyond food scarcity, El Niño has exacerbated public health crises, with surging disease outbreaks such as cholera and malaria reported in flood-impacted regions, alongside increasing risks to safety and security, particularly for women and children.
El Niño is part of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, a climatic phenomenon characterized by periodic warming of surface waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. This warming has significant implications, influencing global weather patterns and leading to a spectrum of extreme weather events. The current episode, noted as exceptionally strong, has triggered severe droughts and floods across various regions, affecting millions and highlighting the link between climatic shifts and humanitarian crises. Understanding these dynamics is essential to comprehend the extensive reach of El Niño’s effects and the ensuing socio-economic disruptions.
In conclusion, the 2023/2024 El Niño event has underscored the profound effects of climatic changes on global weather patterns and the resulting humanitarian needs. It has created unprecedented challenges, particularly for vulnerable populations already facing socio-economic hardships. The scale of displacement, food insecurity, and health crises emphasizes the urgent need for a coordinated response to mitigate these impacts and build resilience against future climatic shocks.
Original Source: reliefweb.int
