A U.S. government weather forecaster on Thursday forecast the development of La Niña pattern during the August-October season, which is expected to persist through the remainder of 2020.
There is about 50-55% chance of La Niña developing during the northern hemisphere fall, with a 50% chance it will continue through winter 2020-21, the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) said in its monthly forecast.
The La Niña pattern is characterized by unusually cold temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean and linked with floods and drought. The weather phenomenon last emerged during September-November season in 2017 and lasted through early 2018.
Meanwhile, the current El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral conditions are expected to continue through the summer of 2020, according to the CPC.
ENSO-neutral conditions refer to those periods in which neither El Niño nor La Niña are present, often coinciding with the transition between the two weather patterns.
(Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft)
