Name
El Nino
by Cindy Grigg
Answer the following questions BEFORE you read this book. It is
okay if you do not know as much as you thought. Do the best you
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Fishermen, like farmers, depend upon nature.
When conditions are right, fishing is good.
When conditions are bad, there will be few
or no fish to catch.
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Fishermen in Peru noticed that each year at a
certain time, the ocean current that normally
flowed from south to north would flow in the
other direction. This change brought warmer
waters along the coast of Peru. Sometimes
the change was brief. Other times, the
change lasted for many months. Sometimes
the water grew only a little warmer. Other
times, the water became so warm that fish
migrated far away.
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El Nino
Most of the time, the waters off the coast of
Peru were full of fish. There was plenty of
food there for the fish to eat. During the
years the ocean waters got a lot warmer,
many of the tiny algae and sea creatures the
fish liked to eat died. Then the fish had to
move to cooler waters to look for food. The
fishermen could do nothing but wait for the
waters to cool and the fish to return.
There were other "fishermen" who suffered,
too. Many birds depended on fish for their
food. When the fish left the coast, many of
them died. When birds died, the people who
collected their droppings and sold them for
fertilizer were left without income, like the
fishermen.
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4
El Nino
In the late 1800s, a scientist in Peru wrote
about these changes. He named the warmer
water current "El Nino." The scientist also
wrote that, at the same time, places that were
usually quite dry got a great deal of rainfall.
For farmers in parts of Peru and Ecuador, El
Nino was good. It gave them bumper crops
of fruits and vegetables. The farmers called
these seasons of unusually wet weather
"years of abundance."
The people of Peru wrote about these
changes that came about when the ocean
water turned warmer. For fishermen, they
often meant disaster. Some ships' logs from
500 years ago tell about these changes.
People noticed these changes often came
around the time of the Christmas holiday.
They called them "El Nino." In Spanish, El
Nino (el NEE-nyo) means "the little boy." It
refers to the baby Jesus, whose birth is
celebrated at Christmas.
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6
El Nino
The changes brought by El Nino have been
known for hundreds of years. But only since
the 1960s have scientists become aware that
these changes cause extreme weather in
many parts of the world.
In most years, the warming of the Pacific
water is slight. It lasts for only a month or
two. It is limited to a narrow stretch of water
along the coasts of Peru and Ecuador. But
every few years, the increase in water
temperature is large (as much as 9 degrees F,
5 degrees C). It may affect much of the
eastern Pacific Ocean, and it may last for six
months to a year, or even more.
Warmer ocean waters cause bigger
thunderstorms to develop. The storms have
an impact on the strength and direction of
winds. Winds carry warm, moist air to
different parts of the world. This impacts
world weather patterns. Scientists are just
now learning how these changes develop and
spread.
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8
El Nino
In 1997, El Nino was the strongest in more
than 100 years. It brought fishing in Peru to a
halt. This, in turn, disrupted the world's food
supplies. It caused brutal storms in South
America. There was heavy rainfall there, as
well as in Kenya (Africa), and in central
Europe. Heavy rains also hit California.
These caused mudslides that demolished
people's homes. Strong storms battered the
Gulf Coast of the U.S. It caused drought in
Southeast Asia and Australia. It was blamed
for wildfires in Australia and Malaysia. But
the northern United States enjoyed a very
mild winter.
El Nino seems to come in cycles from 3-7
years apart. Knowing how El Nino changed
weather in the past, we can make predictions
about what might happen in the future. Then
people can make plans to deal with whatever
might come their way. And we can thank the
fishermen and people of Peru for writing
about them.
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El Nino
Sometimes the opposite of El Nino happens.
The ocean waters around Peru are cooler
than normal. We call these changes "La
Nina" - the little girl. They seem to happen
about half as often as El Nino.
For centuries, El Nino was known for its
effects along the coasts of Peru and Ecuador.
Now scientists realize that "the little boy" is
a powerful force that impacts life around the
world. It damages coral reefs and other
delicate ecosystems. It causes droughts,
wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, tropical
storms, crop failure, and starvation of people
and animals.
La Nina also changes world weather. For
example, to regions that are usually very dry
during El Nino, La Nina brings wetter than
normal weather.
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El Nino
El Nino and La Nina cycles have been known for
centuries. They will most likely continue
disrupting normal weather patterns. Scientists will
keep studying changes in weather and temperature
patterns. They hope predicting these cycles can
help prevent future disasters brought on by "the
little boy and the little girl."
Scientists use many tools to help them record
and understand the patterns and predict the
effects of El Nino. Satellites, ocean buoys,
weather instruments, and computer modeling
programs are just a few.
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El Nino
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El Nino
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El Nino
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