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TIME WAS WHEN PEOPLE LOOKED HEAVENWARD AND PRAYED,''YE GODS, GIVE US RAIN,KEEP DROUGHT AWAY.'' TODAY, THERE ARE THOSE WHO PRAY,'GIVE US RAIN,KEEP' EL NINO' AWAY''.
EL NINO AND ITS ATMOSPHERIC EQUIVALENT, CALLED THE SOUTHERN OSCILLATION,ARE ALTOGETHER REFERRED TO AS 'ENSO', AND ARE HOUSEHOLD WORDS TODAY. METEOROLOGISTS RECOGNISE IT AS OFTEN BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR NATURAL DISASTER WORLDWIDE. BUT THIS WISDOM DAWNED ONLY AFTER COUNTRIES SUFFERED,FIRST FROM THE LACK OF KNOWLEDGE,AND THEN FROM THE LACK OF CO-ORDINATION BETWEEN POLICY-MAKING AND THE ADVANCES IN SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE.
PUT SIMPLE, EL NINO IS A WEATHER EVENT RESTRICTED TO CERTAIN
TROPICAL SHORES , ESPECIALLY THE PERUVIAN COAST.THE EVENT HAS DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE IMPACTS ON THE LAND AND SEA.THE PERUVIAN SHORE IS A DESERT.BUT EVERY FEW YEARS, AN UNUSUALLY WARM OCEAN CURRENT-EL NINO-WARMS UP THE NORMALLY COLD SURFACE -WATERS OFF THE PERUVIAN COAST,COAST, CAUSING VERY HEAVY RAINS IN THE EARLY HALF OF THE YEAR.
AND THEN ,MIRACULOUSLY THE DESERT IS MATTED GREEN. CROPS LIKE COTTON,COCONUTS AND BANANAS GROW ON THE OTHERWISE BARREN LAND.THESE ARE THE PERUVIAN', ''ANOS DE ABUNDENCIA,'' OR YEARS OF ABUNDANCE. THE CURRENT HAD COME TO BE TERMED EL NINO, OR THE CHRIST CHILD, BECAUSE IT USUALLY APPEARS AS AN ENHANCEMENT OF A MILDLY WARM CURRENT THAT NORMALLY OCCURS HERE AROUND EVERY CHRISTMAS.
BUT THIS BOON ON LAND IS ACCOMPANIED BY OCEANIC DISASTERS.NORMALLY THE WATERS OFF THE SOUTH AMERICAN COAST ARE AMONG THE MOST PRODUCTIVE IN THE WORLD BECAUSE OF A CONSTANT UPSWELLING OF NUTRIENT RICH COLD WATERS FROM THE OCEAN DEPTHS. DURING AN EL NINO, HOWEVER WATERS ARE STIRRED UP ONLY FROM NEAR THE SURFACE.THE NUTRIENT-CRUNCH PUSHES DOWN PRIMARY PRODUCTION,DISRUPTING THE FOOD CHAIN.MANY MARINE SPECIES ,INCLUDING ANCHOVETA[ANCHOVIES],TEMPORARILY DISAPPEAR.
THIS IS JUST ONE DAMNING EFFECT OF EL NINO. OVER THE YEARS ITS FULL IMPACT HAS BEEN STUDIED ,AND WHAT THE PERUVIANS ONCE REGARDED AS ''MANNA'' IS NOW SEEN AS A MAJOR THREAT.
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