Is El Niño the same as global warming?

The United Nations has declared 2015 the hottest year since record keeping began. It was also a year marked by the occurrence of a “super” El Niño. El Niño is a phenomenon that disrupts normal weather patterns, bringing heavy rains and drought to different parts of the world. read more

But 2015’s warming of .9˚C above the average for the 20 th century was the “largest margin by which the annual global temperature record has been broken” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, because of the presence of a strong El Niño. read more

Global warming will disrupt large scale phenomena like El Nino, monsoons, and tropical cyclones. read more

El Niño is caused by a warming of a section of the Pacific Ocean due to an oscillation in Pacific currents. There is some potential that the frequency and strength of El Niño is increasing as our climate and oceanic energy (heat) levels increase - but that link is not at all clear at this point. read more