EL NIÑO

What is El Niño?
• El Niño is a part of a climate pattern that occurs
when the sea surface temperatures in the tropical
Pacific Ocean rise to above-normal levels.
• It is an oscillation of the ocean-atmosphere system in
the tropical Pacific having important consequences
for weather around the globe.
• This phenomenon usually occurs every 2-7 years
and lasts for 9-12 months.
•El Niño Conditions
Note the white arrows indicating the direction of the
Trade Winds (from east to west in normal conditions
and reversing from west to east in El Niño conditions). In
many El Niños the Trade Winds may not actually
reverse, they just slow down or stop. Note, also, the
depth of the thermocline (shallow near Galapagos in
normal conditions and deep in El Niño conditions).
History of El Niño
• El Niño was originally recognized by the
fishermen off the coast of South America as the
appearance of unusually warm water in the
Pacific Ocean, occurring near the beginning of
the year.
• El Niño means “the little boy” or “Christ child”
in Spanish. This name was given to the
phenomenon for its tendency to arrive around
Christmas.
• One of the most notable El Niño events in history
was the 1982-83 El Niño event. It caused the
temperature of the tropical Pacific Ocean by
around 3+ degrees Celsius. This phenomena led
to droughts in India and Australia.
• Widespread flooding across the southern United
States, lack of snow in the northern United
States, and unusually warm winter across
majority of North America and Eurasia. It also
caused an unnaturally high number of
hurricanes in the Pacific Ocean.
How does
El Niño occur?
• El Niño occurs when the trade winds weaken,
causing less warm water to be pushed to the west.
Parts of the ocean that are cold in normal
conditions gets warmer, therefore no difference in
temperature on both sides.
• Because of this, the warm waters now moves
eastward, and the rainy weather that typically
occurs in the west side of the ocean now occurs
in the east, causing very dry weather on the
western parts of the Pacific.
• Under normal circumstances, trade winds push warm
water on the ocean’s surface from east to west. This
causes temperature differences between the two sides;
cold water in the eastern side (near Central and South
America) and warm water in the western side (near
Asia) of the ocean. Warm waters heat up the air, making
it rise to the atmosphere and cause weather changes like
rain or thunderstorm.
El Niño and La Niña
• An El Niño condition occurs when surface water
in the equatorial Pacific becomes warmer than
average and east winds blow weaker than
normal. The opposite condition is called La Niña.
• El Niño is characterized by unusually warm
ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific, as
opposed to La Niña, which is characterized by
unusually cold ocean temperatures in the
Equatorial Pacific.
• El Niño, La Niña, and the neutral condition all produce
important consequences for people and ecosystems
across the globe. The interactions between the ocean
and atmosphere alters weather around the world and
can result in severe storms or mild weather,
droughtoffsite link or flooding.
• Beyond “just” influencing the weather, these
changes can produce secondary results that
influence food supplies and prices, forest fires, and
create additional economic and political
consequences. Famines and political strife can result
from these environmental conditions.
• El Niño and La Niña are both part of a recurring
climate pattern that occurs in the tropical Pacific
Ocean, known as ENSO or El Niño Southern
Oscillation. While El Niño is the rising of the
tropical Pacific ocean temperatures to above
normal levels, La Niña is the opposite: the ocean
temperatures drop below normal.
• North and South America experience wetter than
normal weather, causing major flooding in these
regions.
El Niño in the Philippines

• Philippines has been suffering drought brought by El

Niño since 2015, causing damage to agriculture
production in the country. 37 provinces were under a
state of calamity due to the drought earlier this year.
• The drought affected water supplies and the livelihoods
of several towns in Cebu.
• Parts of the country also experienced a shortage of
power as electricity supplied by hydroelectric dams
ceased to function due to low water levels.