El Nino

El Nino refers to the warm currents near the coasts of Peru and the ecuator in the Pacific Ocean, which occur ever 3-6 years or so and lasts for usually 9-12 months.

El Nino

Warmer waters during El Nino are caused by the weakening of trade winds or the reverse of their direction. Winds from the West push warm surface water to the East, towards South America. This change results in less cold water being brought up to the surface from below making the waters warmer. The cold deep ocean water coming to the surface is also known as upwelling. When trade winds lessens, this process is decreased as well.

The term El Nino is Spanish for, "the Christ Child" and was first used by fisherman to describe the warm ocean currents which often appeared around Christmas time.