This is a time-longitude Hovmoller diagram of weekly sea surface temperature, averaged from 10°S to 10°N latitude, across the equatorial Pacific Ocean from 135°E to 85°W, and with time extending from November 1981 to the present.
In this plot the horizontal axis represents time in weeks and the vertical axis represents longitude from 135°E to 85°W across the equatorial Pacific. Colors indicate the value of the weekly sea surface temperature averaged over 10°S to 10°N latitude. Black contours indicate the position of the 28°C sea surface temperature isotherm in this analysis. A sea surface temperature of 28°C is often used as an indicator for the potential for deep convection in the atmosphere over the tropical Pacific Ocean.
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