El Nino 1972: Its Climatic, Ecological, Human, and Economic Implications

Abstract

non. January brought a cessation of the warm-water advance which, along with a normal amount of rainfall, still seemed to be nothing more than a typical summer development in the coastal departments of Tumbes and Piura. By February, conditions had changed: unusually warm (more than 24?C) waters suddenly appeared along the Talara coast as well as ten miles off the coast between Punta Aguja and Salaverry. Yet heavy rains had not been reported. By March, everyone was aware that a strong El Ninio was affecting the coast of northern Peru. Near the shore tropical waters of about 25?C reached as far south as Chimbote, whereas offshore and southward to I2?S the superficial water temperatures rose to more than 24?C. At the same time, heavy rains fell on the coastal lowlands from Tumbes to Salaverry, flooding valuable agricultural land and damaging structures and dwellings. The rains continued through April and May, and not until then did the warm waters begin to withdraw from the coast in a northerly direction. By that