El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a coupled ocean–atmosphere phenomenon in the tropical Pacific characterized by quasi-periodic fluctuations between warm (El Niño), cold (La Niña), and neutral phases. It arises from interactions among equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperatures, trade winds, and the Walker circulation, producing large-scale anomalies in convection, thermocline depth, and surface pressure, notably the Southern Oscillation index. ENSO modulates global atmospheric circulation, altering precipitation, temperature, and storm tracks on interannual timescales, and serves as a key source of seasonal-to-interannual climate variability and predictability in climate diagnostics and modeling.
Climate patterns in the tropics help determine how much snow falls from year to year in Antarctica, one of the coldest, windiest and driest places on Earth. New research from the University of Utah shows that tropical conditions ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 29, 2026
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Strong winds battered Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Monday ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Polo, a major El Niño-charged storm expected to cause severe damage along the Pacific coast.
Environment
Sep 28, 2026
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Researchers at the University of Chicago's Climate Impact Lab combined temperature forecasts with research on how heat affects death rates in more than 24,000 regions worldwide and found that the super El Niño could cause ...
Environment
Sep 25, 2026
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Mexican authorities announced the deployment of nearly 20,000 security personnel in Pacific coast states as Hurricane Polo brought rain and heavy swells Friday.
Environment
Sep 24, 2026
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About 8 million children across East and Southern Africa could face acute hunger by early 2027, a rise of 30%, as one of the strongest El Niño weather events in recent years fuels a growing food crisis, according to a new ...
Environment
Sep 23, 2026
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A display of flowers has bloomed across Chile's Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, after the El Niño climate phenomenon brought heavy rain to the region.
Environment
Sep 23, 2026
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El Niño represents a "significant" threat to global health, the United Nations warned Tuesday, as the world braces for a cycle of the climate phenomenon predicted to be the most intense on record.
Environment
Sep 22, 2026
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The strengthening El Niño weather pattern has tied for the most intense on record on a widely used metric, a senior scientist told AFP on Monday, even as its influence is already being felt from Central America to Indonesia.
Environment
Sep 22, 2026
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All signs are pointing toward a record-breaking El Niño this year, which experts say may cause severe drought in Asia and other extreme weather across the world, threatening food security for millions of people.
Environment
Sep 22, 2026
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This year's El Niño has the potential to be one of the strongest in living memory, and the evidence is showing up around the world.
Environment
Sep 21, 2026
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