El Niño

plural El Niños · plural Los Niños · alternative El Nino

1. An invasion of warm water into the surface of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru and Ecuador, the positive phase of the multi-year ENSO cycle, which causes changes in local and regional climate.

   Additionally, scientists aren’t expecting to be surprised again by El Niño, a warming of the Pacific Ocean that tends to dampen Atlantic hurricane activity.

   2007 May 23, Houston Chronicle

   3 more examples

   The odd weather phenomenon that many blame for the suffering here — the drought and sudden storm pattern known as El Niño — is expected to become more frequent as the planet warms.

   2020 July 23, Abrahm Lustgarten, “The Great Climate Migration”, in New York Times

   In part, that’s because the planet is entering a natural climate phenomenon known as El Niño, which typically brings warmer oceans. But now, El Niño is coming on top of long-term warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

   2023 July 12, Catrin Einhorn, Elena Shao, “How Hot Is the Sea Off Florida Right Now? Think 90s Fahrenheit.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   El Niño is also partially responsible for the ongoing catastrophic rainfall in east Africa, which began in March and has caused devastating flooding in Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, Rwanda and Burundi.

   2024 May 6, Lauren Herdman, “Weather tracker: torrential rainstorms cause death and destruction in Brazil”, in The Guardian, →ISSN