Coral study finds eastern Pacific El Niño has intensified since fossil-fuel era

Researchers reported in Science that eastern Pacific El Niño events have strengthened over the past four decades relative to the preindustrial era. The team analyzed 13 ancient and modern coral records from the Galápagos Islands and used climate simulations to test whether volcanic or solar variability explained the shift. The study says lower-intensity events over the past millennium were gradually replaced by stronger ones after widespread fossil-fuel use began in the 19th century.