To understand how El Niño, which is Spanish for "the Boy," occurs, it would be best to first understand what is normal. Trade winds push warm waters from the Pacific Coast of South America towards Australia, causing what is known as a upwelling of cool water towards the South American coastline. In this way South America becomes cooler and Australia becomes hotter. However, during an el Niño year, these trade winds can lose strength or even reverse direction, causing the warm waters to come back to South America and the cool water to go to Australia. This shift in ocean currents opens a sort of Pandora's box when it comes to the Earth's climate as countries around the world experience droughts, flooding, and landslides among other hazards. It is estimated that this phenomenon occurs every 2 to 7 years, however, it does not necessarily follow this pattern.

Based on the research that I have done, I have come to realize just how much of an impact el Niño can be to the agricultural and fishing sectors of a country. I have also come to realize how other factors such as mining and hydroelectricity can be effected due to flooding or drought. I believe that it is something that most people do not often thing of when it comes to this phenomena. At first I only thought that the phenomenon caused either droughts or flooding, but I quickly came to realize that these two causes smaller yet still dangerous disasters such as forest fires, landslides, and hurricanes (this mainly occurs to islands in the Pacific near Oceania). I would not be surprised if people have heard about el Niño but not actually understand how it comes to be, only knowing the same limited information I once did. I found it interesting that as I researched, I found more information about how the phenomenon impacts North America and Africa, compared to South America.

"Approximately 166,635 people (33,327 households) were affected in the 8 departments, with 76,000 flood victims in Asuncion, the capital..."

The effects of el Niño appear to last at least a year or more as each country aims to rebuild homes, the agricultural sector and fishing industry as well as restore waterflow and food accessibility to its' citizens. The timeline changes depending on how quickly they are able to reestablish their economy and also how much funding they receive from other countries.

Most importantly, would be to educate people to recognize what el Niño looks like and what to do in case they find themselves in an el Niño year. This education should not be limited to a one-time deal, but be placed either annually or as the government deems fit and are sure that their citizens will remember. This way they are able to reduce their vulnerability as the government provides with basic emergency supplies that they might need in case of the phenomenon. This will also reduce the risk of people being unable to reach safety zones due to people panicking and being unsure of what to do. El fenomeno el Niño is one that we will not always know when it strikes, but can only hope to be ready for it.