La Niña

La Niña is a natural climate pattern characterized by cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It typically has a global cooling effect. La Niña is newsworthy because its expected cooling influence in 2025 did not prevent record ocean heating. Despite La Niña's presence, global temperatures only slightly dipped compared to 2024, and oceans absorbed a record 23 zettajoules of heat. This unexpected outcome highlights the overwhelming impact of accelerated global warming, even in the face of natural cooling patterns. The event underscores the urgency of addressing climate change, as natural climate variations are proving insufficient to counteract the effects of human-caused warming. Furthermore, other environmental factors, such as efforts to reduce sulphur in shipping fuels, may indirectly exacerbate warming by reducing atmospheric shading, impacting events like coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef.