Meet El Niño’s cranky uncle that could send global warming into hyperdrive

You’ve probably heard about El Niño, the climate system that brings dry and often hotter weather to Australia over summer.

Firefighters fight forest fire in
Indonesia, triggered in part by El Nino. 

You might also know that climate change is likely to intensify drought conditions, which is one of the reasons climate scientists keep talking about the desperate need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the damaging consequences if we don’t.

El Niño is driven by changes in the Pacific Ocean, and shifts around with its opposite, La Niña, every 2-7 years, in a cycle known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation or ENSO.

But that’s only part of the story. There’s another important piece of nature’s puzzle in the Pacific Ocean that isn’t often discussed.

Read the CSIRO blog - “Meet El Niño’s cranky uncle that could send global warming into hyperdrive.”