What is El Niño and La Niña?
El Niño is a “climate pattern that describes the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean”, while La Nina is the periodic cooling of surface waters. El Niño and La Niña exist in cycles, one after the other. We are currently in an El Niño event, meaning: it's hot.
How are climate change and El Niño related?
Climate change and El Niño are connected. While the El Niño and La Niña “swings” are a normal part of climate regulation, with climate change, these natural “swings” are heightened. El Niño and La Niña are happening more frequently with an increased intensity. This amplified cycle means more extreme weather; droughts, floods, heat waves, wildfires, and severe storms - just to name a few.
El Niño in the U.S
The United States has experienced warmer and wetter conditions in the winter (remember the lack of snow?), with an increased risk of flooding. In 2023, the U.S experienced a “dangerously hot” summer. The past 8 years alone have been record breaking,
El Niño globally
The impact of El Niño is felt on a global scale. It has disrupted many regions across the world. For example, Zimbabwe declared a state of disaster due to an El Niño induced drought. Bogota, Colombia began water rationing when a reservoir dropped to a critically low level – this reservoir provides water for at least 10 million people. However, not only has El Niño disrupted water sources, it also impacts energy production with an increased risk of blackouts, spiked energy costs, and straining of the electrical grid. In South Africa, drought brought on by El Niño caused economic disruptions, with the Western Cape region paying up to $780 million to prevent Cape Town from running out of drinking water, as well as the agriculture sector having $400 million in damages.
Farmer shows the impact of heat waves and drought on maize corn plantation in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Photo Credit: Jam Sta. Rosa / AFP
El Niño in Southeast Asia
According to our community partner Khmer Children's Education Organization (KCEO), public school hours in Cambodia have been cut due to the extreme heat. People are also losing their income because it is too hot to grow anything, and many trees have died. The growing season for rice has been impacted due to the lack of rain, which deepens the economic struggle people are experiencing and decreases the food supply. There is also not enough water in wells or ponds to drink, cook with, do laundry, and raise livestock with. Cambodia and similar countries in Southeast Asia are in need of preventative measures for future (and likely worse) El Niño. This requires intervention and increased funding from all sectors.
According to the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture, the country’s agricultural sector has suffered a devastating 2.63 billion peso loss, affecting over 54,000 farmers and 53,879 hectares of farmland across the archipelago. In most impacted communities such as Batangas, farming communities are not able to plant due to the drought brought on by El Niño.
Updates from the Ground
As of mid May, community partners from KCEO report that a heavy rain has fallen in Ang province, bringing relief to the entire community. Farmers have been able to resume planting rice in their fields.
In the Philippines, we partnered with Youth Advocates for Climate Action-Philippines (YACAP) to provide much needed relief to affected villages in Batangas, Northern Philippines.
Call to Action
Lunas Global Health Network is committed to fighting against climate change and building up climate resilience in Cambodia and the Philippines. Through donations we are able to support ground work being done by incredible grassroots organizations in both the Philippines and Cambodia.
Please donate to Lunas’ Climate Resilience Fund.