Forecasting Benguela Ninos

Abstract

SOUTHERN AFRICAN WEATHER PATTERNS B enguela Niños have much the same effect on weather as their more famous namesake on the Pacific coast of South America. Just as oceanic warming due to El Niño brings heavy rain to Peru and neighbouring parts of Chile, Benguela Niños cause floods along the coast of Angola and Namibia as warm water from the tropical Atlantic Ocean is advected southwards into the northern Benguela region. “It’s important to develop an early warning system for Benguela Niños, yet we know very little about how they work,” says Mathieu Rouault, who last year completed a WRCfunded study on the role of the Forecasting Benguela Niños Benguela Niños occur when warm seawater from the equator moves along the southwest coast of Africa towards the South Pole and penetrate the cold upwelled Benguela Current. To determine what effect these Benguela Niños have on weather patterns and rainfall over southern Africa, Sue Matthews spoke to researchers at the University of Cape Town.

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