Question

weather patterns during a la niña cause less rainfall than normal along the southeastern coast of the united states. however, above - average rainfall occurs in australia. which event is most likely to occur during this la niña?
plants will die in australia due to an increase in intense sunlight.
an earthquake will cause damage to buildings and roads in australia.
a drought will cause rivers to run low along the southeastern coast of the united states.
animals along the southeastern coast of the united states will lose habitat due to flooding.

Explanation:

La Niña causes less rainfall in the southeastern US and more in Australia. Let's analyze each option:

• Option 1: Increased sunlight in Australia during La Niña doesn't directly cause plant death (more rain there, so plants are less likely to die from sunlight).
• Option 2: Earthquakes are tectonic events, not related to La Niña (which is a climate pattern).
• Option 3: La Niña brings less rain to the southeastern US, so drought (rivers running low) is likely here, not Australia (which has more rain).
• Option 4: La Niña brings less rain to the southeastern US (so less flooding), but more rain in Australia. Wait, correction: Wait, the problem says La Niña causes less rainfall than normal in the southeastern US, but above - average in Australia. So in the southeastern US, less rain means drought (rivers low) as in option 3? Wait no, let's re - read. The question is which event is most likely during La Niña. Let's re - evaluate:

La Niña: southeastern US has less rain (so drought, rivers run low - option 3), Australia has more rain.
Option 4 says animals along southeastern US coast lose habitat due to flooding. But La Niña brings less rain to southeastern US, so less flooding. So option 4 is wrong.
Option 3: A drought will cause rivers to run low along the southeastern coast of the US. Since La Niña brings less rain to southeastern US, drought (and rivers running low) is likely.
Option 1: Australia has more rain during La Niña, so plants are less likely to die from increased sunlight (more rain would support plants).
Option 2: Earthquake is unrelated.
So the correct option is the one about drought causing rivers to run low in the southeastern US (option 3: A drought will cause rivers to run low along the southeastern coast of the United States). Wait, no, the options are:

1. Plants will die in Australia due to an increase in intense sunlight.
2. An earthquake will cause damage to buildings and roads in Australia.
3. A drought will cause rivers to run low along the southeastern coast of the United States.
4. Animals along the southeastern coast of the United States will lose habitat due to flooding.

Wait, La Niña: southeastern US has below - average rainfall (so drought, rivers low - option 3), Australia has above - average (so more rain, not drought). So option 3 is correct.

Answer:

1. A drought will cause rivers to run low along the southeastern coast of the United States.