La Niña not driving current cold spell, says weatherman
El Niño and La Niña are climate phenomena linked to temperature changes in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, whose effects can be felt thousands of miles away in Pakistan in the form of extreme heat, harsh winters, droughts and devastating floods.
El Niño refers to unusually warmer sea temperatures, while La Niña indicates cooling of Pacific waters. In recent days, social media users have attributed the cold wave and snowfall across Karachi and other parts of the country to an "active" La Niña, a claim rejected by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).
Deputy Director and spokesperson of the PMD, Anjum Nazeer Zaigham, said La Niña typically suppresses rainfall during winter. "The recent rains are evidence that La Niña is weakening," he said, adding that the phenomenon is gradually fading and is expected to turn neutral by February. "Had La Niña been active, winter rainfall in different cities would not have occurred," he explained.
Experts say El Niño develops when sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific rise above normal, directly affecting Pakistan's climate by intensifying heatwaves, reducing rainfall and increasing drought risk-particularly in Sindh and Balochistan-thereby impacting agriculture and worsening water shortages. Even winters tend to remain milder during El Niño, potentially reducing snowfall in northern areas.
Conversely, La Niña-marked by abnormally cool Pacific waters-can intensify monsoon systems, leading to unusually heavy rainfall. Pakistan's worst floods, including those in 2010 and 2022, were linked to active La Niña conditions, which triggered river flooding, inundation of low-lying areas and flash floods in hilly regions. La Niña can also bring severe cold and heavy snowfall in upper regions, while cold winds affect the plains, disrupting daily life.
Meteorologists caution, however, that Pakistan's extreme weather cannot be blamed solely on El Niño or La Niña. Climate change, they say, has amplified the intensity and unpredictability of such events, posing serious challenges for a developing country with limited resources and fragile infrastructure. They stress the need to take weather forecasts seriously, strengthen urban planning and disaster management, and raise public awareness.
El Niño and La Niña are Spanish terms-El Niño meaning "little boy" and La Niña "little girl"-originally used by fishermen to describe warming and cooling of Pacific waters.