El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

Key facts

• El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is one of the most important sources of annual global climate variability, second only to the earth–sun relationship that drives the seasons. El Niño and its counterpart La Niña are associated with characteristic patterns of rainfall and temperature, which can include extreme events such as flooding and drought.
• ENSO affects many parts of the globe, but most intensely impacts the tropics, including countries and areas in Africa, Latin America and South and South-East Asia that are…