Definition: El Niņo refers to one extreme of the see-sawing conditions in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The other extreme is termed La Niņa. El Niņo is an anomalous warming of oceanic waters that corresponds with a weakening of the easterly trade winds, which normally blow from east to west across the Pacific Ocean. La Niņa is an anomalous cooling of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, which typically produces the opposite effects of El Niņo. El Niņo and La Niņa have wide-reaching effects on many global systems.
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