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Story by Laurelle Stelle • 10h ago

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/we-re-likely-headed-toward-an-el-ni%C3%B1o-year-here-s-what-to-know-about-the-strange-world-changing-weather-pattern/ar-AA1702ng?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=0c6d2e3526744714b8a2ac490eb5ee8a&ei=74

El Niño years effect phenomenon weather©Provided by The Cool Down

El Niño is a weather pattern that occurs in a region of the eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator. It usually happens once every two to seven years, according toNational Geographic.

The name El Niño means “the boy,” compared to “the girl,” orLa Niña. But where La Niña brings colder surface temperatures, El Niño means things areheating up— a condition that affects the climate worldwide.

How El Niño works

National Geographicexplains the conditions that cause El Niño. Normally, strong currents of air called “trade winds” blow from east to west over the Pacific. Matching ocean currents push the warmest water at the ocean’s surface from South America toward Australia and Southeast Asia.

During El Niño, though, the trade winds get much weaker, air…