This disaster took years to unfold. Drought began spreading across the tropics and subtropics in 1875. In the years that followed, a combination of strong climate forces in the Indian and Atlantic oceans formed alongside the record-breaking El Ni\u00f1o, amplifying and prolonging the drought.<\/p>\n
Deepti Singh, an associate professor at Washington State University who has studied this super El Ni\u00f1o, said famines are not an inevitable consequence of droughts. The deliberate actions of colonialists in the 1870s disrupted local systems that communities relied on for being resilient to climate variations, Singh said.<\/p>\n
Might similar consequences unfold today?<\/p>\n
\u201cSimultaneous multi-year droughts similar to those in the 1870s could happen again,\u201d Singh said. \u201cWhat is different now is that our atmosphere and oceans are substantially warmer than they were in the 1870s, which means the associated extremes could be more extreme.\u201d<\/p>\n
But there are other key differences, too. At the time, there was no way to know that such a powerful El Ni\u00f1o was coming, nor what it meant. Modern-day knowledge about the phenomenon was boosted by a super El Ni\u00f1o more than a century later from 1982 to 1983.<\/p>\n
And because of great advancements in climate monitoring and prediction, the world is now much more prepared to deal with the consequences.<\/p>\n
The devastating losses associated with the super El Ni\u00f1o of 1877 to 1878 aren\u2019t likely to repeat today because the social, political and economic factors that exacerbated the effects don\u2019t currently exist.<\/p>\n
Still, such an extreme climate event could have significant impacts on food security, particularly in places most vulnerable to long-lasting adverse weather \u2013 which could lead to global issues.<\/p>\n
A super El Ni\u00f1o could have significant impacts on food security, particularly in places most vulnerable to long-lasting adverse weather. Photo \/ 123rf<\/p>\n
\u201cEnhanced drought risk associated with this super El Ni\u00f1o will threaten food, water and economic security in many regions, which could cascade globally across the interconnected socioeconomic systems,\u201d Singh said.<\/p>\n
In the past century, tremendous scientific advancements have better positioned the planet to weather the incoming storm. It wasn\u2019t possible to predict a coming super El Ni\u00f1o in 1877, 1888 nor 1972. But now there is much greater awareness of what a super El Ni\u00f1o could bring.<\/p>\n
The super El Ni\u00f1o from 1982 into 1983 \u2013 which led to huge economic losses \u2013 ended up being a pivotal turning point for understanding the phenomenon.<\/p>\n