S8 Ep1221: Jeremy Zakis, Part One: Zakis discusses the looming threat of a Super El Niño, characterized by sea surface temperatures in the E

Jeremy Zakis, Part One: Zakis discusses the looming threat of a Super El Niño, characterized by sea surface temperatures in the Eastern Pacific rising 2.5°C above normal, resulting in extreme atmospheric turmoil and more severe weather patterns than a standard El Niño. Meteorologists in Australia are warning that this event may be the strongest in 500 to 1,000 years, potentially causing upwards of $600 billion in damage worldwide. Australians are being urged to prepare much earlier than usual—by September—for a catastrophic bushfire season, clearing "leaf litter" and shrubbery that acts as kindling and cutting back eucalyptus trees that overhang homes. Zakis describes a "vicious cycle": heavy rains currently hitting parts of Australia encourage rapid undergrowth, and when the intense heat and drought arrive, this growth dries out and becomes fuel, while eucalyptus trees become "balls of fire" due to the oil in their trunks. The heating of the Pacific has made weather highly unpredictable—South Australia has already experienced localized flooding in Adelaide, and heavy rain bands are expected to impact Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales. In North America, the event is expected to bring drought to the Southwest but unusual precipitation and heavy snow to New England. (1)