Impacts of the 2015/16 El Niño phenomenon: Reducing risks and capturing opportunities
The 2015/16 El Niño is one of the strongest on record. The warming of the central to east equatorial Pacific of +2 °C has had impacts globally, regionally and country-specific. In certain regions, the occurrences of droughts, storm surges, floods, wildland fires and hot and cold spells in 2015 and 2016 have been associated with the ongoing El Niño. The paper is a contribution to a request by the UN General Assembly in Resolution A/70/110 for the Secretary-General to report on the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of the 2015/16 El Niño phenomenon. The paper presents: overview of impacts to date of the El Niño phenomenon on lives and livelihoods; and the policies and plans put in place and measures need to be taken by countries and regions to manage and reduce the risk of extreme events related to El Niño. The type of policies include the generation of climate information and predictions, provision of impact based warnings and climate services as well as the development and application of specific preparedness and response plans in key sectors regionally, nationally and locally.