What Is El Niño, and What Does It Mean for Weather, Water, and the Global Economy?
El Niño is a climate phenomenon characterized by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific that triggers global weather disruptions. This explainer details how meteorological agencies track these events and why they have significant impacts on agriculture, energy, and disaster preparedness.
Why it matters
Understanding El Niño is critical for global economic planning and preparing for the increased likelihood of extreme weather events.
Characterized by warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, El Niño occurs every few years. Meteorological agencies and researchers around the world are on high alert because when the heat stored in the ocean is released into the atmosphere, it triggers a chain reaction that affects rainfall, temperatures, and even hurricane activity around the world.
This year’s El Niño has gained strength at an exceptional speed, and it will wreak havoc on everything from fisheries to ski seasons. Not all impacts are bad—the parched Southwest, for example, is likely to see more winter precipitation—but anticipating them is the key to being prepared.
What exactly is happening now, and what might happen in the coming months? Read on to understand what El Niño is, why this one might be a super El Niño, and where its impacts will be most acutely felt.
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