A number of studies have already warned that global warming is going to make life difficult on earth. Now, oceanographers have predicted that the planet is going to experience stronger El Niño events in near future, and these events will affect sea levels strongly.

Axel Timmermann, an oceanographer at the University of Hawaii, said it is like climate change on steroids. An El Niño event can result into changes in patterns of wind and changes in ocean currents. These changes lead to redistribution of warm water and drop in sea levels.

According to climate researchers, as temperatures around the world are rising rapidly, there are high chances that El Niño events will be common in future. These events will force sea levels to swing from one extreme to the other, they added.

Such changes are already noted in Guam and Samoa. In these locations in Pacific islands, coral reefs have been seen becoming exposed in shallow water. “The shallow water coral reefs used to be an amazing breeding ground for fish and the seesaw is taking away this refuge”, said Timmermann, who along with other scientists analyzed these extreme swings in sea level. Timmermann has been studying El Niño events from last two decades.

Reports by the researchers, after carrying our computer simulations for about four years, warned that La Niña events will occur 50 to 100 years from now. According to the reports, changes in levels of sea will rise to more than 18 inches by 2100.

“The possibility of more frequent flooding in some areas and sea level drops in others would have severe consequences for the vulnerable coastlines of Pacific islands,” said Matthew Widlansky, researcher at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, in a news release.