El Niño is now stronger than at any point in the last 1,000 years, study finds
Summary
A new study shows that the El Niño weather pattern in the eastern Pacific Ocean is now stronger than at any time in the last 1,000 years. Scientists analyzed fossilized corals from the Galápagos Islands to create a long record of ocean temperatures and found recent El Niño events are more extreme than those before industrial times.Key Facts
- El Niño and La Niña are parts of a system called ENSO that causes major weather changes around the world.
- It was unclear if global warming was making El Niño stronger until this study.
- Researchers studied chemical signs in fossil corals from the Galápagos Islands, which act like natural thermometers.
- These corals provide temperature data going back about 1,000 years.
- The study found modern El Niño events are about 36.5% more variable than pre-industrial times.
- Recent El Niño events have warmer temperatures that are more extreme than any before.
- This increased variability mostly affects the warm phase, El Niño.
- Past climate periods like the Little Ice Age did not show similar changes in ENSO strength.
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