BBC Inside Science

El Nino Special


Listen Later

El Niño is releasing vast quantities of heat normally stored in the Pacific, causing floods, droughts and fires. Adam Rutherford discusses the latest with our El Niño expert Roland Pease.

This weather event arrives every 2-7 years but it's hard to work out how profound it will be. Back in May last year, the Met Office climate scientist Adam Scaife correctly predicted an El Niño. He returns to give an overview of this phenomenon.

How does an altered weather pattern in the Pacific end up altering the weather in Cumbria. Tim Stockdale at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and Richard Allan at Reading University explain the science behind the current events.

The rains are coming to drought-ridden California as a result of El Niño. Jack Stewart explains why this is not entirely a good thing.

Professor Sue Page from Leicester University and Professor Martin Wooster from KCL study the Indonesian fires exacerbated by an El Niño event. They describe the devastating effects of these fires. An estimated 15,000 death can be attributed to the previous El Niño burning and it has added 300 million tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

BBC Inside ScienceBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

278 ratings


More shows like BBC Inside Science

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,412 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,843 Listeners

The Naked Scientists Podcast by The Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists Podcast

605 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,914 Listeners

Science Weekly by The Guardian

Science Weekly

400 Listeners

Health Check by BBC World Service

Health Check

86 Listeners

Business Daily by BBC World Service

Business Daily

537 Listeners

Science In Action by BBC World Service

Science In Action

344 Listeners

Inside Health by BBC Radio 4

Inside Health

84 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

901 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

955 Listeners

World Business Report by BBC World Service

World Business Report

286 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,925 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,081 Listeners

In Our Time: Science by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Science

723 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

248 Listeners

Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

Unexpected Elements

355 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

824 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

480 Listeners

Newscast by BBC News

Newscast

674 Listeners

Evil Genius with Russell Kane by BBC Sounds

Evil Genius with Russell Kane

380 Listeners

Elis James and John Robins by BBC Radio 5 Live

Elis James and John Robins

317 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,989 Listeners

The world, the universe and us by New Scientist

The world, the universe and us

114 Listeners

Sport's Strangest Crimes by BBC Radio 5 Live

Sport's Strangest Crimes

70 Listeners

Uncanny by BBC Radio 4

Uncanny

758 Listeners

Dua Lipa: At Your Service by BBC Sounds

Dua Lipa: At Your Service

1,004 Listeners

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley by BBC Radio 4

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley

547 Listeners

Believe in Magic by BBC Sounds

Believe in Magic

612 Listeners

The Global Story by BBC World Service

The Global Story

171 Listeners

Miss Me? by BBC Sounds

Miss Me?

281 Listeners

The History Podcast by BBC Radio 4

The History Podcast

26 Listeners

Rory Stewart: The Long History of... by BBC Radio 4

Rory Stewart: The Long History of...

66 Listeners

Havana Helmet Club by BBC Sounds

Havana Helmet Club

1 Listeners