El Nino Modoki
Also called: Central Pacific El Nino · Topic: Atmospheric Pressure, Winds and General Circulation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
El Nino Modoki is a type of El Nino. Its warmest sea water lies in the central Pacific, with cooler water on both sides, to the west and to the east. In a normal (classic) El Nino, the warm water spreads to the eastern Pacific, near Peru. Ashok and colleagues described this type in 2007. It is also called a "central Pacific El Nino". It matters for India because it can weaken the monsoon even when the event itself is weak.
Example
In a Modoki event, the warmest water lies near the middle of the equatorial Pacific, far from both Indonesia and Peru. This shifts where air rises and sinks over the ocean, and India can get less monsoon rain.
Don't confuse with
- Classic El Nino: its warmth reaches the Peru coast. Upwelling (cold water rising from below) stops there and the anchovy fisheries collapse.