The La Niña in 2011 (reported to be one of the strongest to occur in recent years) was a major factor in several natural disasters that occurred all around the globe.

The La Niña (which means "the girl" in Spanish) is a weather phenomenon which results in a three to five degree Celsius drop in temperature across the Pacific Ocean. It is preceded by the El Niño (which means "the boy" in Spanish), its counterpart which results in warmer sea surface temperature.

"Global climate in 2011 was heavily influenced by the strong La Niña event which developed in the tropical Pacific in the second half of 2010 and continued until May 2011. This event, which on most measures was one of the strongest of at least the last 60 years, was closely associated with many of the year's notable regional climate events, including drought in east Africa, the central equatorial Pacific and the southern United States, and flooding in southern Africa, eastern Australia and southern Asia," according to a provisional statement released by the World Meteorological Organization.

Queensland Floods

Australia was struck hard by the Queensland floods from December 2010 to January 2011. The Queensland floods, attributed to La Niña, affected over two hundred thousand people and led to damages amounting to thirty billion Australian dollars. Several areas in Queensland such as Brisbane, Bundaberg, Dalby, Emerald, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and Ipswich were the most damaged.

East Africa Drought

La Niña struck again in the middle of July and became a factor in the East Africa drought. The severe drought, which primarily affected Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda, led to a food shortage that threatened over thirteen million people.

Other Regions

Major floods struck several areas in Asia and Europe, including Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, France, Italy, Spain, Tunisia and Algeria.

China, along with Tuvalu, Tokelau and other areas in the western and central Pacific, were also hit by severe droughts. In the case of Tuvalu and Tokelau, drinking water had to be brought in from other countries because the local water supplies had become dangerously low.

A final report with the official figures for 2011 will be released by the World Meteorological Organization in March 2012.