CSIRO research has found global warming will make it more difficult to predict multi-year global climate variations, a consequence of changes to long-term climate variability patterns in the Pacific Ocean.
The results, published today in Nature Climate Change , shed light on how the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) was responding to a changing climate, with implications for assessing multi-year risks to marine ecosystems, fisheries and agriculture.
The PDO is a decadal-spanning pattern of Pacific climate variability, operating in the Pacific Ocean, and exerting a substantial influence on global climate and marine conditions from the US and Japan to Australia and New Zealand.
The PDO has two phases, cold and warm.
During a PDO cold phase, the tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures are lower, and Australia’s decadal rainfall tends to be above average.
Read more at CSIRO Australia
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