Large areas of rainforest are burned in Indonesia and Malaysia to clear land for palm oil plantations RDW Aerial Imaging/Alamy
Cutting down rainforests for palm oil in Indonesia and Malaysia could encourage longer El Ni単o and La Ni単a events with far-flung climate impacts, according to modelling research.
An El Ni単o event, like the one that began earlier this year, occurs when easterly trade winds weaken, allowing warm water to slosh from the western Pacific back into the eastern Pacific and heat the atmosphere. In La Ni単a, the alternate phase of the El Ni単o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), stronger…
