Geography Oceanography, and Weather

Ocean Currents

What is La Niña?

It’s pretty easy to guess that La Niña would be the opposite of El Niño. Instead of warm waters in the tropical Pacific, the surface waters are inordinately cool. In 2009, predictions were for a La Niña to dominate Pacific waters.

A February 2007 image taken by the U.S.-French satellite Jason shows ocean temperatures (red for warmer, blue for cooler) as El Niño transitions to La Niña. (NASA)
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