Feature article
The Southwest Pacific Climate in 2002
By Stuart Burgess, Ashmita Gosai, and Dr Jim Salinger, NIWA
The year 2002 was one of more contrasts across the Southwest Pacific. Important drivers of the annual pattern were the development of the El Niño conditions during the second half of the year (See Fig.1), the decreased strength of the trade winds, and the distribution of warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies.
Anomalous equatorial westerlies occurred about and west of the Dateline and in the central Pacific from July through November.