Which statement is true about the relationship between El Niño and La Niña?

Which statement is true about the relationship between El Niño and La Niña?

• A. El Niño and La Niña events will continue to occur.
• B. El Niño events will cease after 2016.
• C. La Niña never occurs.
• D. El Niño and La Niña are unrelated.

Answer: (A)

El Niño and La Niña are opposite phases of the same climate pattern, ENSO—the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. They arise from the way the ocean and atmosphere in the tropical Pacific interact: during El Niño, the usual trade winds weaken and warmer water shifts toward the eastern Pacific, altering global weather; during La Niña, stronger trade winds push more warm water toward the western Pacific, boosting cooler conditions in the central and eastern Pacific. This push-pull of ocean temperatures and atmospheric responses is a natural cycle that tends to recur every few years, though the exact timing and strength vary. Because this ocean–atmosphere system remains active, El Niño and La Niña events will continue to occur in the future. The other statements—ceasing after 2016, La Niña never occurring, or being unrelated—don't fit the well-established, ongoing relationship between these two phases.

El Niño and La Niña are opposite phases of the same climate pattern, ENSO—the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. They arise from the way the ocean and atmosphere in the tropical Pacific interact: during El Niño, the usual trade winds weaken and warmer water shifts toward the eastern Pacific, altering global weather; during La Niña, stronger trade winds push more warm water toward the western Pacific, boosting cooler conditions in the central and eastern Pacific. This push-pull of ocean temperatures and atmospheric responses is a natural cycle that tends to recur every few years, though the exact timing and strength vary. Because this ocean–atmosphere system remains active, El Niño and La Niña events will continue to occur in the future. The other statements—ceasing after 2016, La Niña never occurring, or being unrelated—don't fit the well-established, ongoing relationship between these two phases.