Quiz: 10 questions on El Niño, with sourced answers

Test yourself, your class or your family. Every answer comes from IMD or NOAA.

1. What does "El Niño" mean? "The little boy" in Spanish. South American fishermen named the warm water that appeared near Christmas (NOAA Climate.gov). 2. Which ocean? The tropical Pacific, especially its central and eastern parts (IMD). 3. Is it a storm? No. It is an ocean-atmosphere pattern that lasts months (NOAA). 4. What happens to the trade winds? They are weaker than usual (NOAA). 5. How often? ENSO events typically develop every 2 to 7 years (IMD). 6. When does it peak? Usually November to February (IMD, NOAA). 7. What is the cool opposite? La Niña, "the little girl" (NOAA). 8. Does El Niño always mean drought in India? No. 1997 was a strong El Niño, but India's monsoon was normal, at +0.2% of the long-period average (IMD table). 9. What can soften El Niño's effect on India? A positive Indian Ocean Dipole can partly offset its drying effect (IMD). 10. Can people stop El Niño? No. It is a natural cycle, and humans cannot prevent it (NOAA). Warming can make its impacts, like heatwaves, worse (IMD).

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