BoM Announces End of La Niña in the Tropical Pacific, La Niña Watch Applies to Australia as Rainfall Still Expected

La Niña has officially ended in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which could lead to a lesser risk of rainfall for countries affected by it.

This comes as Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) announced that the 2021-2022 La Niña season is finally over.

However, it hinted that the weather pattern could form again later this year.

The BoM also announced the change of status in the region into a La Niña Watch. But it still warned that above-average rainfall could still occur for most parts of Australia in the coming months, even if the country is still in its winter season.

Earlier this year, a weather forecast led by the United States indicate that La Niña weather will continue for Australia throughout the year.

The weather phenomenon was also blamed during the widespread flooding and heavy rain in Eastern Australia during the first quarter.

Queensland and New South Wales were the most affected states during the massive flash flooding in February and March.

Thousands of homes and businesses were damaged by raging floodwaters, which also resulted in large-scale evacuations and disruption in multiple communities.

La Niña Season Ends

The BoM made the announcement on Tuesday, June 21, when it highlighted that there is approximately 50% chance the La Niña event could recur in 2022, and this may also confirm previous forecast of persisting effect of climate pattern on Australia and the wider region.

In its website, the Australian weather agency based its assessment on observations and survey climate models, studying ocean temperatures and winds over the tropical Pacific Ocean.

It found that neither La Niña nor El Niño will persist during the winter of the southern hemisphere.

The Bureau's long-range forecasting head, Dr. Andrew Watkins, said the agency has been monitoring such trend of a weakening La Niña over the past several weeks.

La Niña Watch

Watkins underscores the La Niña Watch does not alter the existing rainfall outlook for most of Australia in the remainder of 2022.

Furthermore, the BoM official confirmed the long-range outlook for Australia remains "wetter-than-average," and is consistent with other global forecast centers.

It also reportedly reflects other climate drivers like the development of a negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and above-average water temperatures around Australia.

Eastern Australia Flooding

Almost two weeks ago, a senior US government scientist reportedly warned that Eastern Australia could be struck by a rare "triple La Niña" with heavy rain and flooding for three consecutive years in the summer season in 2022-2023. according to The Guardian.

The said US government warning confirms the continuance of the weather event despite the momentary announcement of its end.

La Niña changes ocean temperatures and pushes warm water into Asia, causing a hot weather that often leads to a substantial amount of rainfall, according to the National Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In the US, the phenomenon causes drought in the southern states while increasing rain and flooding in the Pacific Northwest.