El Niño

A cyclical disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific that has important consequences for global weather, including increased rainfall in the southern United States and Peru, and drought in the western Pacific. El Niño conditions result in a rise in sea surface temperature and a decline in primary productivity, which can affect higher levels of the ocean's food chain, including commercial fishing; a warm water current which periodically flows southwards along the coast of Ecuador and Peru in South America, replacing the usually cold northwards flowing current; occurs once every five to seven years, usually during the Christmas season (the name refers to the Christ child); the opposite phase of an El Niño is called a La Niña.

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