El Niño is responsible for some of the most extreme weather flips on the planet, but how does ocean temperature physically move rainfall across the globe? Under normal conditions, westward winds push warm surface water toward Asia and Australia. During an El Niño event, these winds weaken or reverse, causing a massive pool of warm water to slosh back toward South America. Because deep storm clouds require maximum ocean heat to form, the planet’s primary rain generator is dragged east.
This single atmospheric flip leaves the normally wet Western Pacific (Indonesia) completely parched, while the usually dry Eastern Pacific (California) is battered by historic, relentless winter floods.
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