Winds and Rain in East Africa, water warmer than ususal in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean Dipole or IOD @VOX @guardian #exxpeditionleg16

While we were on Mafia Island, it was often windy and at times rainy.  The owners of the lodge told us that this was not normal for this time of year.  Marco talked about the IOD.  I'd heard about it doing research on the Indian Ocean in preparation for my trip with eXXpedition later this year across the Indian Ocean. I saw this video on it today in VOX.  It explains a weather system that has an effect shifting water temperatures which in turn have an effect on rainfall.  It's been keeping Australia dry increasing the risk of drought and fires, while Eastern Africa is having rain and flooding.

Here's an article from the Guardian talking about this phenomenon.  Gemma Connell, of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

“The Indian Ocean is particularly sensitive to a warming world. It is the canary in the coalmine seeing big changes before others come to other tropical ocean areas.”

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/nov/19/global-heating-supercharging-indian-ocean-dipole-climate-system