It is well established that the El Niño phenomenon is not a result of global warming. The El Niño/La Niña periodical warming and cooling phenomenon is part of a natural climate pattern that causes extreme weather events such as floods and droughts. The question now is, has climate change affected the intensity and/or frequency of these events? Some studies suggest that the recent increase in El Niño (warming) events as compared to La Niña (cooling) events cannot solely be described by natural cycles (Trenberth, 1997). However, it is important to note that many of these studies are conducted using evidence from only about 100 years prior, which is in all likelihood not an adequate amount of elapsed time after which to attempt to suggest anomalies in the data. It has been suggested that El Niño events are changing due to the already rising SSTs that can perhaps be attributed to anthropogenic climate change. However, this begins a which came first scenario: El Niño and wind speed changes help create SST patterns, and higher SSTs themselves can enhance the El Niño effect. Scientists are well on their way towards proving that rising SSTs can be linked at least partially to climate change. Its possible effect on El Niño events are an interesting subject that has yet to be adequately researched.
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