El Niño is now stronger than at any point in the last 1,000 years, study finds

El Niño events, characterized by warmer ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific, have become more intense than at any point in the past 1,000 years, according to a recent study. Researchers from the University of Michigan analyzed fossilized corals from the Galápagos Islands to reconstruct a comprehensive temperature record spanning a millennium.

The findings reveal that the frequency and severity of El Niño events have been strikingly elevated in recent decades, particularly during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This conclusion arises from a disagreement between climate models and limited instrumental data, which make it difficult to discern a clear trend. Julie Cole, the lead scientist on the project, emphasized the importance of understanding the extent to which global warming is amplifying the natural climate variability induced by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system.