article_snippet: El Niño is caused by a shift in the distribution of warm water in the Pacific Ocean around the equator.
article_snippet: Usually the wind blows strongly from east to west, due to the rotation of the Earth, causing water to pile up in the western part of the Pacific.
article_snippet: This pulls up colder water from the Pacific Oceanthe Pacificthe Pacific.
article_snippet: However, in an El Niño, the winds pushing the water get weaker and cause the warmer water to shift back towards east.
article_snippet: This causes the Pacific the Pacific to get warmer.
article_snippet: But as the ocean temperature is linked to the wind currents, This causes the winds to grow weaker still and so
article_snippet: the Pacific Ocean grows warmer, meaning El Niño grows.
article_snippet: This change in air and ocean currents around the equator can have a major impact on the weather patterns around the globe by creating pressure anomalies in the atmosphere.
article_snippet: an El Niño is the result of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, which is the cycle of warm and cold water across the Pacific Ocean.
article_snippet: When the Pacific Ocean is warmer than average for seven to nine months, the NOAA officially classes the NOAA as an El Niño conditions.