Researchers from The National Research and Innovation Agency, also known as BRIN, have revealed that the El Nino phenomenon may change to La Nina Modoki in the near future.
The observation was made by BRIN researcher Erma Yulihastin, who noted that this was due to the wet dry season. Yulihastin added that her team would continue to monitor the situation.
In a tweet on Saturday (29/4/2023), Yulihastin stated that the latest observations of temperature anomalies in the Pacific Ocean indicated the presence of La Nina Modoki, rather than El Nino.
She further explained that the increase in vortex storms that could potentially grow into tropical cyclones could delay or even prevent the formation of El Nino.
Yulihastin described La Nina Modoki as a term coined by Japanese scientists to describe the formation of a tripole or three locations with anomalous temperatures.
She explained that it is warm near Papua and Peru, and cooler in the middle. The warming near Papua causes more clouds to form in Indonesia.
She also stated that although La Nina Modoki does not have the widespread impact of conventional ENSO (El Nino and La Nina), it still has a significant effect on Indonesia.
Yulihastin mentioned that as of Thursday (4/5), the latest temperature readings had not shown any signs of El Nino, as the sea temperature near Papua was still warm, and the humidity remained high in Indonesia.
In summary, the researchers from BRIN have observed the possibility of a change from El Nino to La Nina Modoki, which could have significant effects on Indonesia.
However, they continue to monitor the situation and note that current observations do not yet show any signs of El Nino. The warming near Papua could also cause an increase in cloud formation in Indonesia.
