Attempting to understand and predict climate changes such as El Nino and its cold-water counterpart, La Nina, can help communities prepare for extreme conditions. For example, crops such as rice, which thrive on wet conditions, can be planted if heavy rainfall is anticipated. If dry conditions are anticipated, crops better suited to drier weather conditions, such as cotton, can be planted. El Nino and La Nina are significant factors in the numbers of Atlantic hurricanes and their inten-sity. This doesn't mean that there are no hurricanes during El Nino or La Nina conditions.
Weather is dependent on many factors, and is typically unpredictable.
But predictions can allow governments to counteract disease outbreaks and plan resources such as water, agriculture and oil and grain reserves. Ka Leo welcomes your questions and comments. Search Ka Leo O Hawai'i is the daily campus newspaper of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa . All rights reserved.