The effect of El Niño in North America

The American Climate Prediction Center (ACPC) has officially confirmed an El Niño this year. El Niño is a weather event that occurs every 2 to 5 years when surface waters in the eastern Pacific become warmer. “As the ocean warms, the atmospheric pressure in the region decreases. These changes affect each region and country differently. The last major El Niño occurred from 2014 to 2016. Then there was a weaker one in 2018/19,” explained Adrian Torrebiarte, an analyst at Czarnikow, a British food and services trading company. READ MORE > Clealco presents new evaporation configuration at SINATUB Mexico During El Niño, Mexico experiences more rainfall during the winter, followed by an arid summer. A summer drought can adversely affect sugarcane development in Mexico, as the crop needs rain until mid-year to fully grow and mature. This can lead to lower yields, as over 60% of Mexican cane is not irrigated. Rain during the winter can also delay the sugarcane harvest. However, every El ...