Paleo Slide Set: Coral Paleoclimatology
Global effects ("teleconnections") of ENSO warm events.

The term El Nino (Spanish for the Christ Child) was originally used by South American fisherman 
to refer to especially warm ocean conditions that typically appear around Christmas and occasionally 
last well into the summer. Catches decline markedly during these warm periods, producing economic 
hardships not only for individual fisherman, but also for entire nations such as Chile and Peru 
who depend on fish for crucial export earnings. But the impacts of El Nino extend far beyond 
the South American coast. As this map shows, El Nino events produce ripples throughout the world's 
climate system. Ripples that occur far away but seem to be related are known as teleconnection. 
These teleconnections stretch across the globe, from flooding in the Peruvian Andes and the 
southeastern United States, to severe drought in Indonesia and central India, to voracious 
wildfires that hurtle across the forests and brush of eastern Australia.

Photo Credits:
Thomas.G. Andrews
NOAA Paleoclimatology Program