La Nina on the way

La Nina on the way

SINGAPORE (Reuters): A "fairly strong" La Nina is likely to
bring heavy rains and possible floods to Southeast Asia, much of
it parched for more than a year by El Nino, Singapore weather
forecasters said yesterday.

Singapore Meteorological Service spokesman Wong Teo Suan told
reporters that La Nina was likely to set in late this year after
the El Nino effect had faded.

Both weather phenomena result from abnormal swings in the
temperature of the eastern Pacific Ocean.

El Nino -- the boy child so named by Peruvian fishermen
because it appears near Christmas in December -- results from a
warming of the ocean. Its sister El Nina occurs when the waters
cool more than usual.