According to researchers at Aalto University, Finland, large-scale weather cycles, such as the one related to the El Niño phenomenon, affect two-thirds of the world's cropland. The North Atlantic Oscillation describes the relationship between the Icelandic low pressure and the Azores high pressure areas. During the other phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation, when the air pressure difference is smaller, less than average amounts of mild air flow to Europe. When the Atlantic air pressure difference has been high, the productivity of crops in Europe have reduced by 2 per cent compared to the average. In the Indian Ocean Dipole, the surface water temperature of the Indian ocean fluctuates regularly in the ocean's eastern and western parts: When the surface water is warmer in the Western Indian Ocean, the temperatures in the Eastern Indian Ocean tend to be lower, and vice versa.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 28, 2018 13:07 UTC