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Every few years in December, warm seawater surfaces in the Pacific Ocean near
the equator. This is one sign of the reversal of wind and ocean currents
christened El Niño by Peruvian fishermen. Michael Glantz, the author of
Currents of Change (Cambridge University Press, £14.95/$19.95, ISBN
0 521 57659 8), explains El Niño’s profound influence on climatic events
worldwide, ranging from droughts in Australia to hurricanes on the east coast of
the US. Between its appearances, now sometimes occurring every year and
sometimes in the spring or summer, El Niño is mostly forgotten. This book
aims to change that, in user-friendly style.