Where does global warming go during La Niña?
People have started to ask us whether all these La Niñas could offset global warming. The short answer is no, La Niña is no match for global warming.
The simplest evidence is that global average temperature during recent La Niña years is warmer than for El Niño years in earlier decades! In fact, the La Niña year of 2020 tied 2016—a year that started with a major El Niño—as the all-time-record-high global surface temperature.
But if global warming continues year after year regardless of La Niña, then how does the surface temperature manage to cool off at all during La Niña? Where does that excess heat go?
