El Niño (oceanic current)
- Scope note
- Irregularly occuring phenomenon in which a southward current of warm equatorial water displaces the northward Peru or Humboldt Current. It is characterized by unusually warm sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean and its disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system in the Tropical Pacific has important consequences for weather and climate worldwide.
- Date of creation: 18-Nov-2024
Accepted term: 18-Nov-2024