El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a coupled ocean–atmosphere phenomenon centered in the tropical Pacific, characterized by quasi-periodic fluctuations between warm (El Niño), cold (La Niña), and neutral phases. It arises from interactions between equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies, changes in thermocline depth, and variations in trade winds and the Walker circulation. ENSO modulates global atmospheric circulation, influencing precipitation patterns, temperature anomalies, and extreme weather frequency worldwide. It is a primary source of interannual climate variability and is represented and predicted in climate models using indices such as Niño 3.4 and the Southern Oscillation Index, with substantial implications for seasonal forecasting and climate impact assessments.
A combination of weakened atmospheric removal and increased emissions from warming wetlands, rivers, lakes, and agricultural land increased atmospheric methane at an unprecedented rate in the early 2020s, an international ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 5, 2026
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Some tropical land regions may warm more dramatically than previously predicted, as climate change progresses, according to a new CU Boulder study that looks millions of years into Earth's past. Using lake sediments from ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 2, 2026
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A new study led by climatologists at the University at Albany has found that extreme heat waves across the Caribbean are becoming significantly more frequent, longer and severe. This study examined extreme summer heat waves ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 29, 2026
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Every year, Australia experiences a summer monsoon characterized by the reversal of winds, heavy rainfall, and flooding. In 2024–2025, however, the Australian summer monsoon (ASM) was the latest on record since measurements ...
Environment
Jan 29, 2026
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Stronger El Niño events are more likely when springtime surface waters in the western Pacific Ocean become unusually salty, a new study in Geophysical Research Letters suggests. Traditionally, scientists have focused on temperature ...
Predicting the duration of a Central Pacific El Niño event has long frustrated climate scientists and forecasters. Now, a new study reveals that Central Pacific El Niños follow two fundamentally different life cycles—and ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 24, 2026
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In recent years, as extreme weather events have occurred with increasing frequency, scientists have been searching within the chaotic atmospheric system for clues that can enhance forecasting capabilities—factors such as ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 6, 2025
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La Niña, the cooler and at times costlier flip side of El Niño, has arrived to warp weather worldwide, meteorologists said Thursday. This natural weather phenomenon often turbocharges the Atlantic hurricane season, but this ...
Environment
Oct 9, 2025
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A new study has made a counterintuitive discovery about how El Niño affects India's summer monsoon. Instead of reducing rainfall overall and causing widespread droughts, the periodic climatic phenomenon increases rainfall ...
Australia's changing climate is shaking things up, literally. New research from the University of South Australia (UniSA) warns that increasingly intense La Niña weather cycles are posing fresh challenges for homeowners, ...
Environment
Sep 11, 2025
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