An overview of the present climate in the tropical South Pacific Islands, with an outlook for the coming months, to assist in dissemination of climate information in the Pacific region
Introduction to Island Climate Update 129 - June 2011
El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
La Niña in the equatorial Pacific region is all but gone, and conditions are close to neutral.
Conditions in the tropical Pacific eased during May to lie in the neutral range by the end of the month.
Conditions in the tropical Pacific eased during May to lie in the neutral range by the end of the month. Remnants of the La Niña event that has been in place since mid–2010 are evident, but the main indicators are now near normal. The NINO3.4 SST anomaly was –0.4°C for May, with NINO3 and NINO4 at –0.1°C and –0.6°C respectively (3–month means –0.6, –0.2, –0.6°C).
The tropical cyclone season for 2010–11 has now closed.
The tropical cyclone season for 2010–11 has now closed. The ICU forecast for this season inidcated normal or above normal tropical cyclone (TC) activity for most islands west of the International Date Line in the southwest Pacific, with reduced activity east of the International Date Line due to La Niña conditions in the equatorial and tropical Pacific. A total of nine to 12 named TCs were forecast for the southwest Pacific (between 135°E to 120°W) for the period November 2010 through April 2010.
Signals in the global climate models continue to show easing of the rainfall anomalies associated with La Nina that existed this past season.
Sources of South Pacific Rainfall data
This bulletin is a multi-national project with important collaboration from the following Pacific nations:
American Samoa
Australia
Cook Islands
Fiji
French Polynesia
Kiribati
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Niue
Papua New Guinea
Pitcairn Island
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tokelau
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
International Partners:
Meteo France
