Two “symbolic children” cause havoc: by Horst Cerni

The title does not refer to real children, but the concept of “an oceanographic and climatological event”. It is unusual that a scientific phenomena was given the uncommon names of “El Niño” and “La Niña” - the Boy and the Girl.  According to Britannica, this designation originated in the 19th century when fishermen in Northern Peru tried to describe the phenomena of the warming of the coastal Pacific ocean.

Since the temperatures were highest around Christmas time and the Christ Child was referred to as EL NIÑO (capitalized), the fishermen affectionately called the warming “ El Niño”. When the temperature was below average, it was referred to as La Niña. Why the higher temperatures credited the boy, rather than the girl, was obviously a seasonal decision, and it is surprising that these terms are still used by NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and climate scientists around the world.

El Niño affects especially the coastal Pacific area from Ecuador to Chile, but it has influence all over the world. This year, 2026, we have a Super El Niño, which has caused three major typhoons in the Pacific, hitting the Big Island of Hawaii especially hard. And more are forming. Toronto also got a big storm. At the same time, Global Warming has caused surface temperatures to rise, resulting in dangerous weather patterns and severe droughts which have affected many parts of Europe and causing wild fires in Italy, Southern France and Spain.

Meanwhile, the rivers Rhine and Danube are drying out and making shipping partly impossible. In the US, the largest water reservoir is down by 70%. At the same time the effect of Global Warming has caused floods and major diasters, like the melting of the glacier in Nepal.

Earlier in the year, our island St.Croix was blocked from rain by the Sahara Dust, and now has suffered a severe drought for months. The palms and other trees are starting to die. Normally, September is the month of hurricanes which bring lots of rain and storms. Several big ones have caused great damage here, like “Hugo” in 1989, , “Irma” and “Maria in 2017 (plus later ones like “Lenny” in November 1999 and “Omar” in October 2008) . In comparison, there only has been one major tropical storm in late August of 2026 and ironically it was named “Dolly” - unfortunately coinciding with Dolly Parton’s passing. It was projected to bring rain to our island, but dissipated in the Atlantic Ocean “as it battled the hostile conditions produced by the inhibiting .El Niño climate pattern” (- as reported by foxweather.com).

Isabel writes a daily report for the Storm Carib website (www.stormcarib.com), but this has been a quiet hurricane season and little to report. The lack of hurricanes, of course, is welcome, since El Niño has “blocked” the tropical storms from forming at the Cape Verde Islands.

It probably is incorrect to blame all weather problems on El Niño or La Niña, but in combination with Global Warming both have to be taken seriously in understanding weather patterns.

P.S.The satellite image shows two potential hurricanes approaching the Hawaiian Islands (8 September 2026). As far as I know, there are no images of El Niño or La Niña.