This page houses FEWS NET’s latest agroclimatology forecasts and special reports related to projected food security impacts of La Niña.
La Niña is the cold phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. Its opposite phase is El Niño. La Niña is defined by cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central-eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and related atmospheric changes. La Niña triggers changes in global atmospheric and oceanic circulation that are responsible for anomalous precipitation patterns that can last from months to multiple seasons in several FEWS NET regions.
While precipitation outcomes differ from one La Niña to the next, consistent patterns across past events provide a baseline for prediction. Agroclimatic assumptions used in FEWS NET’s scenario development process are based on La Niña historical impacts, observed and predicted strength and duration, and other regional factors.