El Niño according to Wikipedia is a sustained temperature anomalies of magnitude greater than 0.5°C across the central Pacific (tag). By that definition, it's back.

I'm not a meteorologist but I've gone through El Niño and I hate it. Hence, its development is of personal concern and I'm preparing for it by adjusting my lifestyle accordingly. I suggest you do the same. Be adaptable or be a dinosaur!

According to Wikipedia further, the first signs of El Niño are:

1. Rise in air pressure over the Indian Ocean, Indonesia, and Australia


2. Fall in air pressure over Tahiti and the rest of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean


3. Trade winds in the south Pacific weaken or head east


4. Warm air rises near Peru, causing rain in the deserts there


5. Warm water spreads from the west Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the east Pacific. It takes the rain with it, causing rainfall in normally dry areas and extensive drought in eastern areas

Mike at RealClimate is kind enough to direct me to an animated diagram by Climate Diagnostics Center of the US National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration that illustrates point 4 and 5:



The diagram ranges from August 2005 till early September this year. In the diagram, you could see how the warmer colors are spreading from Latin America to Southeast Asia. It sucks, isn't it?

I wonder how next year's haze's going to be like.

According to the CDC, NOAA, the diagram is a public domain. So, feel free to spread it.