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   El Niño

   /ɛl ˈniːnjəʊ/

   noun

   • 1. an irregularly occurring and complex series of climatic changes affecting the equatorial Pacific region and beyond every few years, characterized by the appearance of unusually warm, nutrient-poor water off northern Peru and Ecuador, typically in late December. The effects of El Niño include reversal of wind patterns across the Pacific, drought in Australasia, and unseasonal heavy rain in South America.

   Word Origin Spanish, literally ‘the (Christ) child’, because of the occurrence near Christmas.

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