Galápagos corals show El Niño events are more extreme now than in past 1,000 years – here’s how my team made the discovery

El Niño is a climate pattern that begins in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, near the Galápagos Islands.

It involves a shift in trade winds that warms ocean surface temperatures, altering atmospheric circulation worldwide.

This leads to changes in weather patterns, including floods, droughts, and tropical storms across the globe.

For example, the 1982-83 and 1997-98 El Niño events caused extreme weather globally, resulting in climate disasters and economic losses estimated at up to $4 trillion.

These events also disrupt marine ecosystems, such as the Galápagos Islands, where warm waters block the upwelling of cool, nutrient-rich water, harming marine life and local communities dependent on fishing.