Brilio.net - Maybe some people are still unfamiliar with the term La Nina. This term turns out to be related to global climate conditions. The La Nina phenomenon generally appears before the rainy season in the archipelago, which is influenced by the atmosphere.
La Nina is characterized by cooling sea surface temperatures in the equatorial eastern Pacific region, which can trigger a series of chain reactions in global weather patterns. For Indonesia, which is strategically located between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the arrival of La Nina could cause an increase in rainfall in most areas of the country.
This La Nina phenomenon can occur due to various natural factors , such as strong trade winds. Trade wind conditions that move from east to west in the equatorial region push warm water westward. As a result, there is an accumulation of warm water in the western Pacific Ocean near Asia and Australia. This process creates differences in sea surface temperature between the western region and the central-eastern region of the Pacific Ocean.
Apart from that, La Nina is also influenced by Rossby waves, Rossby waves are the atmosphere that moves along the boundary between warm water that is stacked in the western region of the Pacific Ocean and colder water in the central-eastern region. It turns out that this wave can strengthen the La Nina phenomenon by transmitting the effects of cold sea temperatures in the central-eastern region to the entire Pacific Ocean.
Then, it could also be influenced by the interaction of the atmosphere and ocean. The La Nia phenomenon occurs when the sea surface temperature changes, so the interaction between sea surface temperature and the atmosphere in the central-eastern Pacific region influences global weather and climate patterns. In areas around the equator, differences in sea surface temperature can influence wind patterns and atmospheric pressure which ultimately influence global atmospheric circulation.
Reporting from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) website, La Nina is predicted to occur in August 2024. This phenomenon causes sea surface temperatures in the region to decrease so that the air feels colder than usual. To better understand what La Nina is, let's look at the complete review below as summarized by brilio.net from various sources, Thursday (1/8).
What is La Nia?
photo: BMKG
Reporting from the BMKG page, La Nina is a phenomenon where the sea surface temperature (SML) in the central Pacific Ocean is cooling below normal conditions. This SML cooling condition can reduce the potential for cloud growth in the central Pacific Ocean. As a result, it could increase rainfall in Indonesia in general.
It could be said that the La Nina phenomenon triggers the arrival of the rainy season in Indonesia with high intensity. In contrast to El Nino, this phenomenon occurs by warming the Sea Surface Temperature (SML) above normal conditions that occur in the central Pacific Ocean.
When warming occurs, the SML could potentially increase cloud growth in the central Pacific Ocean, as a result reducing rainfall in Indonesia. It could be said that El Nino could cause drought conditions in Indonesia. Meanwhile, La Nina causes high rainfall in Indonesia.
Impact of the La Nina phenomenon.
photo: freepik.com
The La Nina phenomenon can have various impacts on Indonesia, including:
1. Increased rainfall.
La Nina generally causes increased rainfall in most parts of Indonesia. This could result in:
- Higher risk of flooding in vulnerable areas
- Increased air humidity
- Potential for landslides in hilly or mountainous areas
2. Impact on agricultural aspects.
Increased water availability for irrigation, which can benefit some types of crops. However, excessive rainfall can also damage certain plants or cause crop failure. Apart from that, it also causes changes in optimal planting and harvest times
3. Influence on fisheries.
Increased rainfall influences changes in sea water temperature which creates high waves and bad weather which causes a reduction in fishermen's catches.
4. Trigger natural disasters.
The La Nina phenomenon can cause hydrometeorological disasters. Hydrometeorological disasters are natural disaster phenomena or damage processes that occur in the atmosphere (meteorology), water (hydrology), or oceans (oceanography). Examples of these disasters include floods, flash floods, landslides, strong winds, tornadoes, and so on.
5. Impact on health conditions.
When the La Nina phenomenon occurs, people need to be aware of diseases that arise due to high rainfall. For example, dengue fever, flu, diarrhea, chikungunya (not much different from dengue fever), respiratory tract infections (ARI), and skin diseases.