Disruptive La Nina weather phenomenon looming: WMO

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2007

GENEVA (AFP) — The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Friday that a disruptive La Nina weather pattern in the Pacific basin was looming this year but might not take shape for another two to three months.

La Nina, effectively a drop in sea surface temperatures off the western coast of South America, can cause havoc with weather patterns in many parts of the globe.

"There is a definite indication of La Nina, but the timing is not clear," WMO scientist Rupa Kumar Kolli told journalists

The Geneva-based WMO said in an report that it had started to detect first signs of a shift in February, with a drop in eastern Pacific sea temperatures to below normal, although surface winds were staying the same.

It said the chances of it developing within...