How the Pacific influences rainfall in Asia

El Niño/Southern Oscillation periodically shifts Pacific Ocean temperatures. When surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific are warmer (orange) during an El Niño, there are heavy rains in East Africa and droughts in India, Indonesia, and Australia. When eastern Pacific waters turn colder (blue) during a La Niña, rainfall patterns flip-flop in Asia, Africa, and Australia. (Image courtesy of Fern Gibbons, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)