Impacts

Impacts

Comprehensive list of recent and historical El Niño / La Niña impacts.

Read Reports to the Nation on our Changing Planet: El Niño and Climate Prediction (PDF), and find more impacts information in the FAQs on El Niño and La Niña.

Global Impacts

Global effects of El Niño La Niña and Resources from the IRI
Wwind, temperature, and rainfall patterns from the Climate Prediction Center
Impacts in the Tropical Pacific from the Climate Prediction Center
Global impacts from climate.gov
El Niño and Climate Change from the AGU Geophysical Research Letters
Records broken by the 1997-1998 El Niño from the UC Irvine School of Biological Sciences
El Niño and La Niña impacts and discussion rom NCEP
Impacts on Canada: a cartoon from University of British Columbia
Rural Australia climate/ENSO management from the State of Queensland
Ecuador County Case Study: How have humans changed their enviroment? from University of Texas
El Niño / La Niña reports and data from National Centers for Environmental Information

Societal and Economic

ENSO, climate and society from the IRI
Improving societal welfare in the context of changing weather and climate from the Climate Science and Applications Program at NCAR/UCAR
Societal impacts of El Niño and La Niña from the University of Colorado
Study reveals economic impact of El Niño from University of Cambridge
Economic consequences of an El Nino from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Economic Impact of an El Nino from Space Daily News
Economic benefits of Improving El Nino forecasting (PDF) from NOAA & the World Summit

Famine and Drought

ENSO and Forecasting Drought from the National Drought Mitigation Center
El Nino and Famine from the Famine Early Warning System from US Agency For International Development
Early Famine Warning System Network from the USGS
Famine Early Warning and Monitoring Program (EWEM) from US Geological Survey, US Agency For International Development (USAID) and Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWs)

Hurricanes

Hurricane season outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center
Monitoring the current Atlantic Hurricane Potential from the Climate Prediction Center
Monitoring the current Pacific Hurricane Potential from the Climate Prediction Center
La Niña, El Niño and Atlantic Hurricane damages in the U.S. from the Hurricane Prediction Center

Military

Human Health

El Niño and Human health - article by R.S. Kovats, from the World Health Organization
Climate Change Impacts & Adapting to Change from the EPA
Climate Change and Public Health from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Climate Change and Human Health from Johns Hopkins University
Global Environmental Change and human health from the World Health Organization
Climate change may threaten health - a media release from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
El Nino and Zika virus from WHO
Dengue Fever Epidemics Linked with El Niño from EOS, 9 October 2015
El Niño and Hantavirus Disease from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
Emerging Health Notification: El Nino and Rift Valley Fever from USDA, DHS, CDC, NASA, NOAA, DFA, DOD/14th Weather Squadron
New look at 1918/1919 El Niño suggests link to 1918-1919 Flu Pandemic

Marine Life

Fish distribution from NOAA Fisheries
Marine mammals in the California Channel Islands from National Marine Mammals Laboratory

El Niño Impacts on the U.S. and North America

El Niño & La Niña impacts on U.S. temperature and precipitation from the NOAA/NWS
U.S. Drought Monitor from the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC)
U.S. Impacts from climate.gov
El Niño effects on North American Climate from FSU/COAPS
El Niño effects on North America from Dept of Oceanography, US Naval Postgraduate School
Interactive Climate Analysis and Plotting Web-Tools (including ENSO relationships) from ESRL Physical Sciences Division

U.S. Storm Tracks

El Niño at Play as Source of More Intense Regional U.S. Wintertime Storms (from NASA)
Development of Nor'Easters during El Nino Years from the AMS
El Niño and Spring tornados & hailstones and Prediction of regional tornado outbreaks from climate.gov

U.S. West Coast, Canada, Alaska, Hawaii

El Niño, La Niña and the Western US, Alaska and Hawaii from the Western Regional Climate Center
El Niño and Salmon in the Northeast Pacific Ocean
El Niño forecasts and salmon management from EconBiz literature
El Niño Induced Ocean Eddies in the Gulf of Alaska from COAPS at the Florida State University
ENSO resources for U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands from the Pacific ENSO Applications Climate Center, University of Hawaii, NOAA and UOG/WERI
Impacts on the Pacific Northwest of climate variability and ENSO from Climate Impact Group at the University of Washington

California

Latest El Nino impacts from USGS
Impacts of the 1926 and 1983 El Niño with photos from USGS
1997-1998 El Niño: San Francisco area landslides from USGS
1997-1998 El Niño: impact photos from the USGS California coastal monitoring program
Effects on California sea life and birds and ocean fishing fom the California Dept of Fish and Wildlife
El Niño and California rainfall from ggweather.com

Non-coastal Areas in the U.S., Canada

Influence of El Niño on Mauna Loa carbon dioxide from Florida State University
Effects of El Niño on Streamflow, Lake Level, and Landslide Potential (Southwestern US) from the USGS
El Niño and La Niña impacts in Illinois from the Illinois State Climatologist
El Niño impact on Lower Mississippi River flooding from NWS River Forecast Center
Effects of El Niño on the Climate, Water Balance, and Streamflow of the Mississippi River Basin from American Meteorological Society Journals on-line
Impact of El Niño on Central Canadian floods and droughts from NRC Research Press

Banner graphic: Indonesian wildfires from the International Fund For Animal Rescue via Flickr commons

El Nino global impacts for Winter and Summer from climate.gov

El Niño global impacts for Winter (top) and Summer (bottom). Credit climate.gov. Click for larger image.

La Nina global impacts for Winter and Summer from climate.gov

La Niña global impacts for Winter (top) and Summer (bottom). Credit climate.gov. Click for larger image.

U.S. El Nino Jet Wintertime Pattern image from NOAA

U.S. El Niño Wintertime Jet Pattern. Credit NOAA. Click for larger image