What is El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)?
Q: What is El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)?
A: El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a natural event that takes place in the Pacific Ocean. It is also called El Niño and La Niña, which mean "little boy" and "little girl" in Spanish.
Q: How often does this event occur?
A: The Pacific Ocean has this event every two to five years. Every three to seven years, an El Niño event may last for many months.
Q: What are the effects of ENSO?
A: ENSO can change the weather and have important effects around the world. Australia and Southeast Asia can have drought while the deserts of Peru have very heavy rainfall, or East Africa can have both drought and heavy rain depending on whether it's an El Niño or La Niña event.
Q: Who discovered Southern Oscillation?
A: Sir Gilbert Walker discovered Southern Oscillation in 1923.
Q: What is the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI)?
A: The Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) is the difference in sea-level pressure measured at Tahiti and Darwin.
Q: What caused the 2010-2011 Queensland floods?
A: The 2010-2011 Queensland floods were caused by a La Niña event which brought very heavy rain to the east coast of Australia.
