After just a few months, the long-anticipated La Niña weather pattern has officially ended, according to scientists from the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
La Niña, the cooler phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, finally arrived in December 2024—months later than expected—and concluded by March 2025, NOAA confirmed in a blog post Thursday, April 10. The tropical Pacific Ocean has now transitioned to an ENSO-neutral state, which means there is currently neither an active El Niño nor La Niña event.
“After just a few months of La Niña conditions, the tropical Pacific is now ENSO-neutral, and forecasters expect neutral to continue through the Northern Hemisphere summer,” said Dr. Emily Becker, a research associate professor at the University of Miami’s atmospheric sciences department.
Natural Climate Pattern
The ENSO cycle is a natural climate pattern driven by changes in sea surface temperatures and atmospheric conditions in the tropical Pacific, which spans from Mexico to Peru. These shifts can have global ripple effects on weather, including the Philippines, which lies in the path of typhoons influenced by ENSO dynamics.
The recent La Niña was initially expected to begin in mid-2024 but was delayed, giving it little time to intensify before the winter months in the northern hemisphere. This short-lived event followed the strong El Niño of 2023–2024, which was linked to record-breaking global heat and intense droughts across parts of Asia and the Pacific.
Typically, La Niña brings cooler and wetter conditions to Southeast Asia, including more rainfall and typhoons in the Philippines. It also tends to suppress global temperatures. However, despite the cooling effect of La Niña, global temperatures in early 2025 have continued to break records—another sign of the growing impact of climate change.
NOAA scientists note that sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific are now hovering close to average. March data showed the temperature deviation was only –0.01°C, far above the threshold that would indicate a La Niña event.
El Niño or La Niña
Researchers remain uncertain about what exactly caused the delay and brevity of this recent La Niña. Warmer-than-usual ocean conditions during early 2024 may have played a role.
With the current neutral ENSO state likely to persist through the summer and possibly into the fall, forecasters caution that weather may become less predictable. “ENSO-neutral doesn’t mean average or stable weather,” NOAA said. “In fact, variability can increase during neutral phases, as other climate systems come into play.”
The ENSO cycle usually sees an El Niño or La Niña develop every two to seven years, though not always on a predictable schedule. Filipino forecasters and disaster response officials typically monitor these shifts closely, as they influence the onset of rainy seasons, droughts, and typhoon behavior across the archipelago.
As the Philippines enters its wet season, local climate experts are watching the Pacific closely for signs of a possible new El Niño developing later this year—an event that could once again strain water resources and agriculture.
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