El Nino: A phenomenon supercharged by climate change

Anchovies are an unlikely bellwether for a building climatic event, but their disappearance from the coast of South America is heralding one of the biggest El Ninos in living memory.These small fish usually live in colossal shoals along the Pacific coast of South America, feeding in the cold, nutrient-rich waters. Fishermen in Peru and Chile eagerly await the fishing season every year, but every now and then, it does not come as planned. This is one of those years.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Panama Canal restricts traffic amid Hormuz crisis: Why this matterslist 2 of 3UN warns El Nino could be ‘off the charts’, strongest in decadeslist 3 of 3How wildfires are scorching France’s wine industryend of listSome years the easterly trade winds in the Pacific weaken or even reverse. The trigger for this remains uncertain, but it causes a warm ocean current to flow east to the coast of South America. This replaces the nutrient-rich cold water, causing the anchovies to disappear.Because the warm waters arrive around Christmas time, Peruvian fishermen named the phenomenon El Nino de Navidad (The Christmas Child).The impact of El Nino, a natural weather pattern, spreads much ...