El Niño and La Niña are two opposing climate patterns that break these normal conditions. Scientists call these phenomena the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. El Niño and La Niña can both have global impacts on weather, wildfires, ecosystems, and economies. Episodes of El Niño and La Niña typically last nine to 12 months, but ...

El Niño: El Niño causes changing weather patterns and warmer surface waters in the Pacific, which can lead to increases in sea level. NOAA predicts that this year's El Niño, among the strongest on record, will peak this winter.

modes such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Nevertheless, if we assume that regional sea level will keep following its present trajectory for the coming three decades, most U.S. regions are mostly tracking between

• An El Niño is forecasted to begin strengthening in the fall. Along the east coast, atmospheric patterns during El Niño typically drive extratropical storms closer to the coast. They also change wind patterns which push water higher along the coast. This creates a combination of higher sea levels and a higher

seasons. There are also natural cycles such as El Niño that cause climate conditions to be different from year-to-year. These differences are part of natural climate variability, but they are not the same as climate change. Earth’s climate has changed many times in the past, and is changing now. Studies of tree rings show that Earth’s average

An El Niño is the appearance of warm waters in the eastern Pacific. El Niño is Spanish for the Christ Child originally named by South American fishermen because the event occurs near Christmas time.

El Niño. Disease Fallout from Extreme Weather In many regions, it is already raining less often but harder. According to The Physical Science Basis, trends from 1900 to 2005 show significantly increased precipi-tation in many regions, including eastern parts of North and South America. More intense and longer droughts have occurred

Coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Thousands of species rely on reefs for survival. Millions of people all over the world also depend on coral reefs for food, protection and jobs. This tutorial is an overview of the biology of and threats to coral reefs, as well as efforts being made to conserve and protect them. It includes images, animations, and videos.

• What are some of the weather related effects of El Niño? • What might be some economic effects of El Niño? 4. Give students background information/definition of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) from the NOAA Fisheries Service website. The Pacific Decadal Oscillation is a climate index based upon patterns of variation in sea

are] unseasonable conditions, like in an El Niño where there are unseasonal rain or drought con-ditions or unusually high temperatures,” Patz says. “We look at that and say, as scientists, okay what did that extreme weather pattern do to disease? If we can study what happens to disease in extreme weather events, it gives us a