El Niño is part of a natural climate pattern that occurs roughly every two to seven years, bringing warmer-than-normal water to parts of the equatorial Pacific. The most recent very strong El Niño events, in 1997–98 and 2015–16, upended weather patterns. Impacts spanned the planet, from fires in Indonesia and the Amazon to crop failures due to drought in southern Africa to heavy rain and coastal flooding in Southern California. The current El Niño rivals these past heavyweights.

El Niño is part of a natural climate pattern that occurs roughly every two to seven years, bringing warmer-than-normal water to parts of the equatorial Pacific. The most recent very strong El Niño events, in 1997–98 and 2015–16, upended weather patterns. Impacts spanned the planet, from fires in Indonesia and the Amazon to crop failures due to drought in southern Africa to heavy rain and coastal flooding in Southern California. The current El Niño rivals these past heavyweights.

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