High pressure emerges on the Southeast Brazil Coast. This is a change from previous low pressure in this zone. Consequently, a pattern-change. Hotter and drier weather shifts across Southern Brazil. To compensate, wetter conditions develop in Northeast Argentina.

The Climate Impact Company ENSO Outlook for 2025 indicates La Nina will continue through Q1/2025 and weaken during Q2/2025 followed by neutral ENSO. Late in 2025, forecast confidence is low as a weak El Nino could emerge, ENSO remains neutral, or a second La Nina generates. The DEC-24 subsurface equatorial East Pacific cooled dramatically and trails only 2008 and 2010 for coolest upper ocean heat anomalies during December for all La Nina events this century.

During DEC-24, the equatorial Pacific Ocean to the east of the Dateline produced a sharp drop in upper ocean heat. The observation is by far the coolest of 2024, a year when La Nina has struggled to develop. The dramatic subsurface cooling coupled with increased trade winds helped the Nino34 SSTA surge to a moderate-strength La Nina-like value of -1.1C Christmas Week. However, since that time waters have warmed slightly.

The Southeast Coastal Region of Australia was very dry in both DEC-24 and OCT/NOV/DEC-24. Otherwise, precipitation has averaged above normal to excessively wet across many parts of the continent during that time. Helping to aggravate the Coastal Southeast Drought is anomalous warmth during Q4/2024 which became somewhat hotter than normal for East-central and Southeast Australia during DEC-24. The anomalous heat accelerated the drying of soil. Consequently, a massive bushfire regime has developed from Victoria to New South Wales.