Tamil Nadu may encounter El Niño differently than the rest of India

View of Kothapatnam beach. In an El Niño year, India experienced, on average, a lack of rainfall and a higher incidence of drought. However, Tamil Nadu reported a strikingly different pattern. | Photo credit: Kommuri Srinivas/The Hindu

The El Niño Southern Oscillation is a climate phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean that occurs every two to seven years. However, its effects are global.

This year, weather agencies around the world are tracking a so-called “super” El Niño. El Niño refers to the surface waters of the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Peru and Ecuador being warmer than average. Usually these waters warm by about 0.5°C, but this year the rise reached 2°C – a phenomenon referred to as a “super” El Niño.

Published – 07 Oct 2026 09:30 IST