GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -El Nino is a climate pattern that describes the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. It is the “warm phase” of a larger phenomenon called the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). It occurs more frequently than La Nina.

Detailed explanation-2: -The term El Niño (Spanish for ‘the Christ Child’) refers to a warming of the ocean surface, or above-average sea surface temperatures, in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

Detailed explanation-3: -El Niño is characterized by a positive ONI greater than or equal to +0.5°C. La Niña is characterized by a negative ONI less than or equal to-0.5°C. Whenever the ONI is between +0.5 and-0.5, conditions are referred to as ENSO-neutral.

Detailed explanation-4: -El Niño and La Niña events are natural occurrences in the global climate system resulting from variations in ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific. In turn, changes in the atmosphere impact the ocean temperatures and currents. The system oscillates between warm (El Niño) to neutral or cold (La Niña) conditions.

Detailed explanation-5: -El Niño is an abnormal warming of surface ocean waters in the eastern tropical Pacific that occurs approximately every 3 to 7 years. The phenomenon was named El Niño (meaning “The Boy Child” or “The Christ Child") by South American fishermen because it typically arrives around Christmastime.