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UPSC Prelims 2010 · World Geography · Air, Winds and Climates
A new type of El Nino called El Nino Modoki appeared in the news. In this context, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Normal El Nino forms in the Central Pacific Ocean whereas El Nino Modoki forms in the Eastern Pacific ocean.
- Normal El Nino results in diminished hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean but El Nino Modoki results in a greater number of hurricanes with greater frequency.
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (b) 2 only
Only the hurricane contrast is right.
Statement by statement
1. ✗ WRONG — reversed Normal El Niño warms the EASTERN Pacific; El Niño Modoki warms the CENTRAL Pacific.
2. ✓ CORRECT Normal El Niño suppresses Atlantic hurricanes; Modoki is linked to more Atlantic hurricanes.
The idea
ENSO is a coupled change in tropical Pacific water temperatures and atmospheric circulation. Its effects depend partly on where warming is concentrated. Modoki describes a central-Pacific warm pattern, with cooler anomalies on either side. Moving the main warming region changes distant winds, so two Pacific events need not have identical Atlantic effects.
Pacific warming changes location → Main zone of rising air shifts → Upper-air circulation changes → Atlantic wind shear can change → Conditions for hurricane development change
Why the others are wrong
(a) Accepts the reversed locations.
(c) Accepts the reversed locations.
(d) Rejects the hurricane contrast.
The trap
Statement 1 swaps central and eastern Pacific.
Also know
Conventional El Niño is associated with weakened trades and reduced upwelling off Peru. La Niña generally strengthens the opposite pattern. The Southern Oscillation is the atmospheric pressure part of ENSO; the Indian Ocean Dipole is a separate ocean pattern. The Atlantic hurricane response to central-Pacific events is a tendency that also depends on season and background conditions.
🔒 Modoki = “similar but different” (Japanese), central Pacific warming.
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